Unrequited
by only here in your arms
Summary: <html><head></head>Eli Goldsworthy works as a doorman for a building where the richest of the rich live. There is only one reason why he chooses to work there. And she doesn't even know his name.</html>
1. Welcome Home

**I got this idea in class today and I thought I'd write something to get it out of my mind. I might or might not continue. If you like it, please review!**

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><p>It was day-in, and day-out. Eli Goldsworthy stood at the grand front doors of the Castellani building where the richest of Toronto resided. Mostly those who lived at the lavish building were those families of major companies or even entertainers. Each tenant had their own two floors and were not bothered by any other family who lived around them. The richest family, the ones who lived at the top of the building, was the Edwards family.<p>

Eli got this job because his uncle runs the building and needed a doorman. It wasn't a difficult job. It was just to make sure no one out of the ordinary came into the building and tried to get up the elevator to steal from the rich families. He definitely developed good observing skills through this job and learned to read people as they entered and left through the Castellani doors. His shifts lasted all day, which was fine for him because he had nothing else to do. No school, no other job, he'd much rather just stand and observe than have to find something else to do.

It was around 5 o'clock in the afternoon and Eli counted down from ten until he saw the person he knew would be coming around at that time. It was Ms. Rossi, the only tenant living alone in the building. Eli nodded to her courteously and Ms. Rossi smiled at the twenty year old.

"I think you become more handsome every time I see you," she commented in a flirty manner. Sasha Rossi was in her mid-twenties, worked as an actress for local shows and movies, but her father, a filmmaker, was where she earned her lavish lifestyle from. But she was very talented and Eli would always hope that the next time she'd come back to the building, she'd tell him that she landed the role which would make her huge.

"Thank you Ms. Rossi, how was your day?" Eli asked politely. His uncle made it clear that he should never address the tenants by their first name unless specifically asked by them.

"Great Eli," she replied with a forced smile. "Any visitors or messages, do you think?"

"I'm sure there's something for you," Eli answered smirking. But he did so in a non-suggestive kind of way. He was a little weary of putting a flirty tone in his voice or even look at Sasha Rossi in a certain way because he knew that she had some kind of interest in him. It was very obvious.

"Hope so," she sighed. "Have a good evening."

"You too Ms. Rossi," Eli nodded. She left his sight and he sighed deeply. This job was very emotionally tiring, not just physically. He had to watch the tenants either come home happy or disappointed or angry or upset. Even those who didn't talk to him liked to complain or rant to him and he would have no choice but to listen. A lot of the stories were interesting. He found out a lot about those living in Castellani through these various stories.

Like how 7th floor's Donaldsons were once involved in a murder case when they were vacationing in the Hamptons. Or the rebellious son of the 10th floor's Bradleys was in jail at the moment for vandalism and possession of an armed weapon. And also the oldest daughter of the Edwards family had something so bad happen to her that she had to be shipped to Kenya to get back on track.

A lot of what Eli hears are rumors but some could be the truth. He didn't know which were true or not. But he knew one thing for sure; the tenants sure loved to express their feelings and gossip.

It was now 5:30 which meant any minute now, Eli was going to see the person he's looked forward to seeing for months now. It was now Christmas/winter vacation for the college students of the Ontario area and many students were coming home for weeks to enjoy a long break from school and spend time with their loved ones.

Eli's breath hitched when he saw a dark car pull up at the sidewalk about 20 feet away from him. The driver climbed out of the car and swiftly went around to the back door of the car, opening it swiftly, and there she was.

Eli couldn't believe how beauty could have gotten to such astronomical levels as he watched the young girl exit the car, adjust her curly, auburn, short hair, and pat down the white blouse she wore. She went to grab her suitcase from the trunk but the driver was already on it. She waited and smiled graciously at her driver and she took the handle from him, kissed his cheek, and then headed towards the front doors.

Frozen and amazed, Eli couldn't even smile back when the girl smiled her beautiful smile to him. "We-welcome home, Ms. Edwards," Eli stuttered awkwardly and he inwardly hit himself on the forehead for having been so awkward.

"Thank you," she laughed softly. "And I can't believe I still have to tell you to call me Clare. Ms. Edwards makes me sound so old and I'm only nineteen!"

"Sorry," Eli apologized and looked down at his dark shoes. "Your parents are waiting for you upstairs. They're excited to see you."

"Oh I bet they are," Clare said sarcastically, rolling her eyes to herself. "Thanks for the kind welcome. I'll see you again soon. Bye!"

Clare waved and smiled once again at Eli who watched her walk through the doors and head towards the elevator. He didn't stop staring until the elevator doors closed behind her and he finally took the breath he was keeping in since he saw her exit her car.

_She's back home,_ Eli thought to himself. He grinned at that fact. _Now she isn't so far away. I've been counting down the days until I saw her again and now she's back, she's here, for three weeks. Maybe I'll…no. That can't happen. It's not like a perfect, rich, university student would want to date a doorman with no life. No way._ And one other thing…_**she doesn't even know my name.**_

Eli took a deep breath to himself and took his position once again. The life of a doorman. Constantly observing and waiting, more of a statue than anything. And yet Eli stayed for the job for just one thing. _Seeing Clare Edwards._

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><p><strong>So did you guys like it? I might continue it but I'm not sure. If I get many reviews then I will but you guys have to tell me if you like it! I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!<strong>


	2. A New Start

**Wow, I am amazed at the reception of the prologue! 20 reviews? Amazing! Thank you guys so much for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Glad you guys like the story so far!**

**Oh, and I like that you guys caught the Murder in the Hamptons reference. :)**

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><p>Around 11 o'clock the same night, Eli was done with work until 10 am the next morning. After changing out of his doorman attire in his uncle's office, he walked out of the building in his usual skinny jeans, black shirt, and a black blazer. He fluffed his hair up a bit from his very straight laced, pulled back hair for work. He checked his watch as he turned a corner and entered a local bar. He approached the bar and was immediately presented with his usual drink.<p>

"Like clockwork," the bartender, Natasha, smiled and leaned against the counter. "How was the doorman's day today?"

"Same old, same old," Eli muttered before sipping on his drink.

"Really? Cause a little birdie told me that the girl you're completely in love with came home today," she sing-songed teasingly. She looked up and waved at someone then walked over to a customer who just came to the counter. Right then, Eli's best friend came over beside him and patted his back.

"How'd it go?" Adam asked.

Eli shrugged. "She came. I made a fool of myself. She walked inside. That was it."

"Well then…how'd she look?"

"Beautiful," Eli breathed and couldn't help but smile to himself. "It was only 4 months since I saw her last and she got even more beautiful. I didn't know that that was possible. She dresses differently though. More…adult, mature, classy. Not that she wasn't before. She didn't have the usual floral patterns that she always wore. Oh and her hair is shorter and curlier. God, she was beautiful."

Eli didn't realize that Adam was laughing until a minute after he stopped talking. Adam had his hands over his face as he chuckled, and eventually he said, "Dude, you are sooooo whipped and you're not even with her."

"She doesn't even know my name," Eli groaned into his hands pitifully. "This girl that I've loved for a long time has no idea what my name is."

"Then what about this idea? You introduce yourself." Natasha stood behind the bar directly in front of Eli as she cleaned a deep glass. She was tapping her foot and looking at Eli with an amused face. "You come in here so often, always talking about this practically royal princess and yet you can't even get yourself to say 'Hi Ms. Edwards, my name is Eli Goldsworthy'. I mean honestly, I think you should at least be on first name basis with her."

"It's rude to just ask a tenant what their name is and I seriously doubt that they would even care what mine was," Eli reasoned with both Adam and Natasha. "Sure there are few of them who know my name but Clare has never asked. She always asks me to call her Clare, not Ms. Edwards, but she has never specifically asked me for my first name."

"You're such a wuss," Adam muttered to himself. "Just be like, 'Good morning Clare. I just realized that I've never formally introduced myself, I'm Eli Goldsworthy and I'm completely, irrevocably in love with you. Now will you please go out with me before I turn into a complete stalker and follow you to fill my needs?'"

Eli took a jab at Adam's shoulder and Adam rubbed that aching spot. "Dude, not cool. I'll probably have a bruise there."

"Yeah well," Eli replied nonchalantly. He continued to drink his drink. "I have work tomorrow around mid-morning so maybe I'll see her. I might get the chance to speak with her. Since she's just visiting I wouldn't know what time she'll come out or come home. It'll be a waiting game."

"A waiting game you don't mind," Natasha teased and stuck her tongue out. "Even when your shift is over you'll still be waiting for her to come back just to get a glimpse of her."

"If I see her, I'll see her. I'm not gonna wait for her," Eli said seriously.

Adam and Natasha glanced at each other and laughed. "You've been waiting for her for a long time, Eli. And you're still going to be waiting for her until you two finally have some sort of conversation," Adam told him. "Just…introduce yourself before she goes back to school. At least. You'll be waiting for five months for her to come back."

"Fine, fine," Eli sighed. "I'll _try_."

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><p>The following night, Eli was at his usual spot with his frozen stature. Feet firmly planted on the ground, hands clasped in front of him against his body, staring front as if he didn't exist. It was pretty late that cold December night, around midnight, and Eli felt like his hands were going to fall off with the chilliness of Toronto. He breathed hot air into his gloved hands, rubbing them together to create some warmth, and he touched his face and felt that his cheeks were very frozen and probably really red.<p>

This was one thing he hated about his job. The cold, winter nights he had to endure outside. He hated it a lot more when it snowed. He had partial shelter above him, covering him from rain, snow, or other things falling from the sky, but many times he had to help the tenants out of their cars, getting himself snowed on, and he couldn't go inside to rid himself of the wet feeling he would get after having snow pound on him until his shift was over.

But tonight was a clear, freezing night and he was counting down the minutes before his shift was over. It would be done at 1 o'clock and he had an hour left to endure. He hadn't seen any tenants since 9:30 when Mr. Austin Kelly, a business man, retired up to his loft which he shared with his wife Grace and toddler daughter Katharine. Eli had his suspicions about the man. He would go to work around 9:30 in the morning, come home briefly and leave at 3 before Mrs. Kelly would get home from picking up Katharine at pre-school, then come back home late at night. He would sometimes pass by the front doors speaking in a hush tone on his phone, saying "I'm home now. I miss you too." So Eli believed that Mr. Kelly was having an affair. Not the first time Eli heard about infidelity from the tenants.

Now 12:30, Eli was practically counting down the seconds to when his shift would be over. He imagined picking up a burger from the 24 hour diner beside his apartment, going home, taking a very hot shower to defrost, enjoying his burger, then retire to bed. But then he remembered that he would have to spend another cold day outside once again and he just deflated.

He was getting tired of this job. Sure it was good money and sometimes he received hefty tips from the tenants which would leave him financially secure for a while but what was he doing? This job was usually for older men, not 20 year olds who could be in school or working at jobs that they actually enjoy.

And _Clare Edwards_. He was never going to talk to her. He was never going to spend time with her like he'd like. He was never going to receive the feelings back from her as he felt for her. He stayed at this job for her, just to catch a glimpse of her and _maybe_ talk to her but that was it. She never acknowledged him more than a doorman.

Eli decided he would quit tomorrow. He was sick and tired of a job that he never really wanted in the first place and he was qualified for other jobs. Maybe he would even go to college. He just needed to feel happy for once in his life and this job was holding him back as it took up all of his time.

12:45. Eli saw Clare coming from down the sidewalk, her small frame completely bundled up in a thick winter jacket, winter boots, and a knit hat. She had her arms over her stomach, obviously freezing, and her head down to combat the very cold and fierce winds. Eli started to get nervous, as he always did when he saw Clare Edwards, and when she stopped right in front of him, looked up, and smiled, he nearly lost it.

He didn't nearly lose it because she was smiling at him, he nearly lost it when he saw her eyes were red, her makeup was runny, and her nose was red and moist. He knew that this wasn't because of the cold weather. She was crying.

"Oh hi," she said nervously, taking her covered hand and rubbing it under her eyes. "Didn't realize someone would still be at the door in this weather."

"I'm always here," he joked. His heart fluttered when she chuckled softly.

"You are," she agreed. "You must really enjoy this job."

"It pays," Eli shrugged in response. "And my uncle gave me this job so if I skip a day he would give me hell for it."

Clare nodded in understanding and sniffled. "But it's freezing. Shouldn't you go home?"

"My shift ends in a little bit," he said as he checked his watch. "I get off at 1."

"Everyday?"

He shook his head. "It switches around. Sometimes it's later, sometimes it's earlier. It depends. But when I'm not here, the other guy is."

Clare looked like she was thinking and her realization face made Eli smirk a bit. _She's so adorable_. "I just realized that I don't even know your name!" she said in a gasp. "I am so terrible. You're so nice and you're here all the time and I've never even asked for your name."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, no one really asks for my name," he said to her with his smirk. "My job is just to greet people and open doors. I don't need a name."

Clare shook her head and said, "No. I'm going to fix this. I'm so rude." Then she held out her hand. "I'm Clare Edwards. And you are?"

There it was. She asked for his name and offered her hand. He took it with his own and even through the fabric covering both of their hands, he felt a slight jolt of electricity and it wasn't from static. He looked at Clare in the eyes and she gasped softly, and he wondered if she felt that too.

"Eli…Goldsworthy. I'm Eli," he replied and shook her hand.

"Well it's nice to meet you," Clare smiled. "I really am sorry for not asking for your name before. That is so rude of me."

"It's okay," Eli assured her. "Really."

"It's not, Clare countered. "I feel absolutely terrible. Hm…how about I pay you back by inviting you to have dinner with me right now? I am starving and I would like some company. And I really don't want to go back upstairs and see my parents figh-, well I just don't want to see them. So will you join me for some food? I know it's late and all but the dining hall is always open and I'm sure that-"

"I'd love to," Eli answered, cutting her off. "But my shift isn't over yet."

Clare glanced at her phone and checked the time. "It's 12:53, seven minutes won't hurt, you know. And if you get in trouble with your uncle, I'll cover for you."

Eli then opened the building door and gestured for Clare to enter. She smiled and he followed her inside. She led the way to the dining hall where the waiter was sitting at a table, falling asleep. Clare rang the bell at the front of the hall and the guy, who Eli recognized as a guy named Arthur, sprung up and ran over to them.

"Evening Ms. Edwards," he said nodding to her. "And…Eli?"

"Late night dinner," Clare explained. "Table please."

"Right this way," Arthur said. He grabbed two menus and led them over to the two person table near the back of the room.

Eli pulled Clare's chair back for her and allowed her to sit before he sat down in front of her. Arthur handed them their menus and asked for their drinks. Eli asked for water and Clare wanted hot chocolate.

Eli gave Clare a curious look once Arthur walked away. "It's freezing!" Clare explained. "I need to warm up."

_We could do something else to warm you up…_ Eli's perverted thoughts ran rampant and he pushed them back into his brain and focused on this moment. _Is this a date? I can't believe she finally knows my name and she asked me to have dinner with her. This doesn't mean anything though. She just felt bad for me and she didn't want to be alone. Yeah, that's it._

"So what are you getting?" Clare asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

Eli flipped the page over and saw that they served burgers. Yes. "A burger," he answered.

"I'm having the chocolate chip smiley pancakes, haven't had those in a while," she laughed. Eli couldn't help but think that Clare was the most adorable person in the world. She was even nicer, funnier, and cuter than he had imagined. "Whenever I had a meal here I was with my parents so I'd have to order regular breakfasts like egg and bacon, or I'd have to order pasta. Now for my first meal without them, I can order whatever I like."

"Yeah order whatever you like, I'll pay," Eli offered.

"No need. This all goes to my parents' bill," she said sinfully with a smirk. "Best thing? They won't know what I ordered. And they won't even glance at the bill. So they won't even know of this night."

"Oh." Eli kind of felt…disappointed. That meant she wanted to erase this night, have no evidence of it.

"No, that's not what I mean!" Clare recovered as if he read Eli's mind. "It's just that…my parents ask a lot of questions and if they know that I had a late night dinner they'd ask a lot of questions. They usually give a receipt at the end of the meal so I can keep that as a remembrance of our first meal together."

_First meal…does that mean there'll be a second, third, fiftieth?_ Eli sighed in relief. He smiled at the thought that Clare wanted to remember tonight. Once Arthur came back he took their orders and the food came out within ten minutes, seeing as no one else was there.

Eli ate pretty quickly, not realizing how hungry he really was, and Clare ordered him a side of fries. "We'll share," she said when Eli began to protest. "I'm in the fries mood."

"Pancakes and fries…yum."

An hour later both he and Clare were full and talked out from having spent the entire time talking and laughing. Clare kept asking questions about Eli's job and he even shared a few stories about what he has heard. Arthur gave them a receipt and Clare put it into her wallet as Eli watched smiling brightly.

They walked into the main hall of the building and Clare asked. "What have you heard about my family?" she asked curiously.

_Your sister was shipped away, your parents spend more time yelling at each other than talking, and you…you're the most angelic person I've ever met._ "Not much," Eli shrugged. "Honestly, your family is the quietest one of them all. Everyone has scandal but you guys don't really. Unless you've murdered someone or robbed a bank and no one found out."

"I guess I'm just good at secrets," Clare joked. She glanced at the big clock in the room and sighed. "Time to head upstairs. It was really great to officially meet and spend time with you Eli. Maybe we can do this again sometime."

"Sure," he smiled. Clare held out her hand and it would be their first skin-to-skin contact. Eli gently touched Clare's soft hand and the electricity was more noticeable. His skin tingled, all over his body, and he wished he could just take her up in his arms and love her to oblivion.

"Goodnight Eli," Clare said to him, looking up into his green eyes with a completely complacent expression.

"Goodnight Ms. Edwards," Eli said automatically.

"It's Clare," she reminded him. "If you call me Ms. Edwards again, I will…I'll tell your uncle to tack on an extra hour onto all of your shifts."

Eli's jaw dropped teasingly. "Ouch! And here I thought that we were getting along!"

Clare started walking towards the elevator and it opened quickly and she stepped inside, turned around, and waved to Eli. Once the doors were closed, Eli smiled. "Goodnight Clare," he said to himself with a silly grin. He walked out of the building and headed towards his apartment, not able to wipe off the smile on his face.

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><p><strong>So how was it? Please review! Just an FYI, this story will be slow and my updating will be sporadic. I have another current story going on as well so I'll be alternating chapters. But thank you guys so much for the support of this story! I'm still amazed that I got 20 reviews just from a short prologue! You guys are amazing! I hope you guys continue to review and continue to love the story!<strong>

**Every chapter from now on I will pick my favorite review that I receive and dedicate the next chapter to you. :)**


	3. Show Me Around Toronto

**Favorite review of the previous chapter goes to heatherpoulette! I love how you said "Guess he's coming back to work tomorrow!" because he so is. :P I'm glad all of you are enjoying the story so far! It is a light-hearted story, not as dramatic as some of mine are or may have been. Please enjoy and review at the end!**

**P.S. Sorry if you read the random cliffhanger "and" in the original version of this chapter. Not meant to be there, don't know how it showed up. Sorry! **

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><p>Eli was floating all the way to work the next morning. He had spent a few hours with Clare the night prior and he felt invincible. Yes it was lame and yes it was dumb but he finally spent time with the girl he had been, nonetheless, obsessing over for a while and he couldn't wipe off the stupid grin off his face.<p>

He could only picture Clare's personality from seeing her. He had imagined her to be a smart, witty, friendly girl and she exceeded his expectations. She was intelligent, sarcastic, funny, incredible, and even more beautiful inside than out, which seemed impossible because Eli saw her as the most beautiful person he had ever laid his eyes on.

Clare had told him about her time in university and her roommate Alli, who was a bit more wild and promiscuous than herself. They were best friends though and had been since high school. Clare also mentioned when they first moved to the Castellani building. She had been six years old and Clare's mother wanted people to know their status. She thought the only way to show people their wealth was to live in the most expensive building in Toronto. So Clare had to attend private school up until her high school days when she begged her parents to let her attend a public school. So every morning she had to get up early and be driven to Degrassi Community School but it was all worth it. She had the time of her life at Degrassi. Except for when a person made fun of her wealth but when Clare won everyone over by her modest and charming ways, everything became perfect.

Eli noticed something about Clare as she spoke. She was more animated and energetic when talking about school or friends but when it came to talking about her personal life with her family, her voice became softer and she seemed to be a little bit more reserved. But about Degrassi and college, she was smiling more brightly.

He found it difficult to talk about things that wouldn't bore her but she was asking questions about his job and about his friends, where he went to high school and a little bit about his family. It surprised himself how much he actually shared with her. He said that he had two parents who were not normal but extremely loveable, he said that he had a best friend named Adam who he always went to concerts with and got into trouble with all of the time, and he even confessed his biggest dream.

"_I want to bring awareness to the crazy things going on in the world. I want to be a travel journalist and travel around the world, write articles about how things are in certain countries, bring awareness to things and establish charities or relief programs for these places. There are so many people who complain about what they don't have but there are so many people who don't complain and cherish what they do. There are a lot of people in this world who don't even have clean water and that…that I want to change. So I want to use my writing skill and talent, and my love for travel, and show the world what they don't see and change some hearts."_

Eli had earned a very sweet smile from Clare right after he said that and she promised to help him out as much as she could. Clare told him about the truth of her sister Darcy who was now in Kenya as part of a relief program. Eli knew about the rumor that Clare's sister was shipped away but this seemed like a much more realistic scenario seeing as he never saw Darcy as a trouble making girl.

Eli walked into the building and changed into his 'doorman' jacket or what Adam and Natasha called it, 'the old man jacket'. Once he checked with his uncle to start his shift, Eli went to stand in the cold winter morning of Toronto. He checked his phone to see the time and counted down from ten and right at zero, Austin Kelly walked out of the building. The night prior he had entered the building on his phone and just like then, Austin was on his phone. "I'm leaving now," he was saying to whoever it was he was talking to. "No she doesn't suspect anything."

Eli scoffed quietly to himself. His suspicions were true as Austin was obviously having an affair. He tried to hear the rest of Austin's discussion as Austin waited for a cab until he felt someone touch his shoulder, which made him jump.

"Touchy this morning are we?"

Eli's heart raced as he thought it was Clare greeting him but as he turned, he saw that it wasn't Clare, it was Ms. Rossi.

"Just tired," Eli replied as politely as possible. He looked down to see what Ms. Rossi was wearing and noticed she was very dressed up. "Do you have something special to do today?"

"I have an audition!" Sasha said happily. "My father got me an audition for a big movie so I'm heading over there now. What do you think? Think I'll get the part?"

"Of course," Eli lied smoothly with a smile. "You're very talented."

"Well thank you Eli," Sasha replied in a flirty manner. "Have a good day."

"You too," Eli nodded. He watched as Ms. Rossi walked down the sidewalk and caught a glimpse of Austin Kelly stepping into a cab, still talking into his phone.

"He's totally having an affair."

Eli jumped once again and was about to curse until he realized that voice. Clare was smirking beside him and he couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, he is," he agreed. "But how do _you_ know? I've been noticing the signs for months. You just came back a few days ago."

"I was with him in the elevator. He was on the phone saying stuff like 'I miss you too baby' and 'I had a great time last night' and I could've sworn that I saw him check me out and if you're cheating, you're more likely to have a wandering eye."

"You know he could be saying that stuff while on the phone with his wife right?" Eli asked. "And you could've just been imagining that he was looking at you like that. Because you had a fixed perception of him you could've easily imagined that action to match what you thought."

Clare leaned in a bit closer to Eli's ear and he felt his heart race when he felt Clare touch his arm in order to lean up. "I also saw him take his wedding off," she whispered then stood back down onto her heels. "Right when he got into the elevator."

"Oh," Eli said shortly. "Then that makes sense then."

"It's a shame though," Clare said sadly. She now stood against the wall Eli was also standing against.

"What?"

Clare played around with the cross chain on her neck. "His wife is such a lovely woman and their child is so adorable. When Katharine was born, Grace and Austin were so happy. I just don't understand why people would cheat on their spouses, especially when there's a child involved who's obviously going to be affected by this. Don't people have hearts at all?"

Eli could see the double meaning between Clare's tiny monologue but passed it off to another discussion they would hopefully have soon. Instead he changed the subject. "What are you up to this morning? I thought a college student on vacation like yourself would be staying in late to catch up on sleep?"

"I never sleep in," Clare answered. "And I thought I'd visit the people I usually saw on a daily basis. Like my favorite barista at the coffee shop down the street or the sweet old man at the dry cleaners. I promised I would visit them when I came home from college so I'm sticking to my word. Do you want to come with me?"

"I would love to but as you can see, I'm on duty," Eli sadly said, tugging on his blazer. "But have fun though. Give me a full report…if you want."

"Well what time are you off tonight? Not too late, I hope."

"I'm off at three today," Eli answered.

Clare smiled. "Great! I'll swing by at three and we can walk around the city together. Have an afternoon meal, visit people, talk, we'll do it all. See you later!"

Eli was holding his breath until Clare was out of sight and wanted to jump around in happiness as Clare practically asked him out on a date but he composed himself and just went back to standing like a statue.

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><p>When three came, Eli was already back in his usual clothes and was exiting the building when he saw Clare approaching the building once again. Every time he saw her, he felt like his heart would just jump out of his chest. He saw that she was holding large pretzels in her hand.<p>

"Snack?" she offered nicely, extending her unbitten pretzel to Eli. "You must be hungry after a long shift and I predict that you didn't even have breakfast this morning."

"How'd you know?" he asked as they began to walk. He did take Clare's extra pretzel after saying a quick thanks and began to nibble on it.

"Well you ate like you haven't even in forever last night and I figured that would tie you over until lunch and since you passed lunch hour, I figured that I'd bring you a snack in order to tie you over until dinner. So where would you like to go?"

Eli noticed that Clare actually walked with a slight bounce in her step. It wasn't like she was jumping as she walked, she had a very energetic walk even though he knew that she had been walking around all day.

"Well you're the one who's here for a visit so you tell me what you'd like to do," Eli said with a slightly full mouth.

"Nope, that's not how it works," Clare said with her finger pointed. "You should take me to your favorite places in the city and I'll show you mine."

"There isn't really a lot of places that I would consider my favorite here in Toronto," he replied skeptically. He thought about his favorite restaurant and the bar that Natasha worked at, since he liked going there, but they weren't 'special' places to take Clare to.

"Well…when you're upset about something, where do you go?"

Eli raised an eyebrow. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well there's a reason you go to that place when you're upset, it's where you want to go to calm down. I think that's a special place. Will you take me to wherever that is?" Clare asked. She looked at Eli innocently and he felt himself turn into silly putty in her hands.

"I go to a bar," Eli sighed. Clare looked at him curiously. "Not to get drunk or anything," he clarified. "I get one drink or something and I call my best friend Adam. Another friend of mine works there as a bartender. When I'm upset about something all I really want to do is talk and the bar is usually where I can talk to the people I want to."

"Where is it? Let's go then!" Clare grabbed Eli's arm and headed towards a random direction until Eli pulled his arm slightly to stop her from walking. He pointed the other way, signaling she was going the wrong way, and she laughed at herself. They walked to the bar, Clare's hand still around the juncture of Eli's arm, and as they walked in, Natasha looked up from the book she was reading.

Natasha immediately smiled as Eli and Clare sat in the seats right in front of her. "Well, well, well, it's a bit earlier that I expected Eli. Who's this?"

"Nat, this is Clare," Eli replied, his voice saying Clare's name a bit slowly. "Clare, this is my good friend Natasha."

"Nice to meet you," Clare smiled as she shook Natasha's hand. "Does Eli come here often?"

"Almost every night," Natasha answered smirking.

Clare turned her head to Eli. "So you're not in a great mood when you get off work?"

"Never said that," Eli replied. "Always gotta say hi to Natasha."

"But lately he's had _a lot_ he wanted to talk about," Natasha laughed and Eli glared at her. "It's a bit early for drinks but what'll you both have? On the house in order to welcome a girl back from college."

"Wait," Clare said confused. "How do you know that?"

Eli began to think of legitimate excuses but when he started to talk, Natasha cut him off. "I always ask Eli about the people that live in your building. He told me about that one guy who's cheating on his wife, who sounds like a total douche by the way. And a few nights ago he told me about that one actress who's terrible, Ms. Rossi? And that a girl named Clare Edwards came home from college for the holiday." Natasha said this so smoothly that Eli even bought it. It was true though but Natasha had left out a lot more from the conversation.

"But how did you know that I'm the Clare he was talking about?"

"I've never heard him mention another girl named Clare so I just assumed," Natasha shrugged. "So any drinks?"

"Iced tea for me," Clare replied.

"Same," Eli replied with a sigh. Natasha winked at him before going to make their drinks. Eli merely rolled his eyes at his friend but when he heard Clare laughing beside him, he turned. "What's so funny?"

"You say she's your friend, right?" Clare asked.

Eli nodded. "And?"

"Eli, that girl is completely into you," Clare said blatantly. "She beamed when you came through the door, she was smiling and smirking at you the entire time, she just winked at you! She's really pretty too and really nice. Why not ask her out?"

_Because I'm completely in love with you_. "She's not my type," he replied. "Plus I've known her for so long, it would be weird."

"But you two would look great together!"

"Can we just…drop it, please?"

Eli's tone was a bit too pushy for Clare and she practically deflated. Eli saw this, Clare's turning head and awkward hand movements in her lap, and he sighed. He didn't want to lie to Clare but he couldn't tell her that he and Natasha were actually a thing before. It would make for some awkwardness, he was sure. Even though Clare was clearly not interested in him he didn't want to make anything awkward for the relationship he was trying to progress with her.

Natasha finally came back with the drinks and also a plate of nachos. "On the house, enjoy." She smiled once again and went to a waiting customer at the other end of the bar.

"They serve food too?" Clare asked curiously as she picked a cheesy chip to eat.

"Just the usual bar food. Nachos, homemade peanuts, sometimes hot dogs. Depends on the day," Eli answered. They two ate in silence for a bit and Eli watched as Clare looked around in the bar. He noticed how Clare definitely stuck out like a sore thumb in the bar. While it was a little dark inside, she was wearing a bright white jacket with a floral shirt underneath and some jeans to go with it. She looked as if she could be going to a party, not a bar.

"What?" Eli was out of his trance when Clare was looking at him.

"Nothing, sorry," Eli said quickly, embarrassed. He felt his cheeks turn very red.

Clare laughed to herself. "Well, after this, do you want to go to one of my favorite places?"

"Sure," Eli shrugged. "Wait…it's not the public skating rink that's open every year at this time, is it?"

Clare had a devious smile on her face and Eli groaned. "I don't skate."

"Well I'll teach you! Come on, it'll be fun!" Clare was tugging on Eli's arm annoyingly and finally Eli caved.

"Fine, but if I fall I'm leaving the ice." Clare promised and they finished their food quickly. After saying goodbye and thanks to Natasha, Clare and Eli left and started walking to the ice rink. It was like Rockefeller Center in New York. The rink in Toronto was in a large, famous park and it only opened around holiday season. They both got their skate sizes and went to put them on. Eli had trouble lacing them up so Clare helped him secure the laces tightly. They walked into the rink and right away, Eli wobbled on his feet.

"Just relax," Clare advised him. She skated to the place in front of him and held both of his hands. "Just move your feet slowly to get used to it."

Eli did what he was told and took small strides and he didn't almost trip once they got to the middle of the rink. "Okay good," Clare smiled. "Now just do that while we go around in a circle around here and you should be fine."

Two times around the rink Eli finally got the hang of it. Clare still held his hand but once she knew he was ready, she slowly let go of his hand and Eli skated by himself. He was smiling like a little kid who just rode a bike without training wheels for the first time. Ten minutes later he stopped at one side and rested. Clare skated up right beside him.

"Having fun?" she asked grinning.

"It's making my feet hurt like hell but it's fun," Eli said. "Do you—"

"Clare!" Eli and Clare turned to the direction of someone shouting Clare's name and Eli's heart dropped when he saw a tall, brown haired male skating up to them.

"Jake? What are you doing here?" Clare asked in a non-excited way.

"I'm here with my little cousins," the Jake guy replied. He turned to Eli. "Are you here on a date? You said you just needed a break…"

"No, this is my friend Eli," Clare replied. "Can we talk privately?" Jake nodded and gave Eli a look before skating away to a different area with Clare.

Eli held his head down in sadness. This wasn't a date. She was on a break from dating someone else, which means she's not actually available. His hope to 'woo' her for a few days was not going to work. He watched as Clare and Jake talked. He was putting his hand up and down her arm and they hugged eventually. When they pulled away Clare was smiling. They skate away together and Eli knew that Clare had forgotten about him. He skated to the exit, quickly took off his shoes, and left.

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><p><strong>Sad, eh? I couldn't make things smooth sailing, you know! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. School is almost up for me and I'll be updating more often, hopefully. Please review and tell me what you want to see happen!<strong>

**Any characters you want to make an appearance?**

**Please review! Thanks for reading! P.S. Again, sorry about the random "and" in the original chapter. Not meant to be a cliffhanger.**


	4. Friends with Benefits

**Favorite review from the previous chapter goes to eclarerocks for pointing out the whole Ms. Rossi/Marco del Rossi thing. I swear I didn't even think of that! That's kind of cool though. I didn't mean it intentionally and they're in no way related. Thanks for pointing it out! :)**

**Anyways, here's the new chapter!**

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><p>Eli spent the rest of the afternoon simply walking around the city. He was still a little angry and disappointed that Clare just left him alone to be with some guy. That guy was obviously her boyfriend, someone Eli had no clue about. But Eli figured that a girl like Clare, beautiful and perfect, had to have a boyfriend and he was stupid to think otherwise.<p>

Eli had watched her smile at him, teach him to skate, hold his hand and arm. When she was doing her own spins and twirls he practically swooned. She looked entirely too innocent and sweet but that moment was shot down with the arrival of _Jake_.

As any too emotional male would do, Eli started to compare himself to this _Jake_. There wasn't a big difference in height but Jake was the clear taller one. He had the naturally highlighted brown hair, the model-type face, blue eyes. Eli, on the other hand, had plain dark hair that he needed to get cut, a skinny face and frame, and he always thought that he had pretty nice eyes but nothing compared to the piercing blue. Eli couldn't help but feel uncomfortable that he was comparing himself to Clare's boyfriend but he couldn't prevent it.

By nine that night Eli ended up at Natasha's bar and he sat at a booth alone, sipping on a beer and eating a bowl of peanuts. When Natasha slid into the seat in front of him, he didn't move. "I'm off tonight," Natasha began. "And I'm spending my night off at my work because of you and your moodiness."

"You live upstairs, it's not really a strain for you," Eli muttered with rolling eyes.

"What's got your panties in a twist? If I do recall, you spent your afternoon with the girl you've been pining after. What'd she do? Ditch you?" Natasha meant this in a joking way but when she saw Eli nodding slowly without looking at her, she immediately felt bad. "Oh. I'm sorry. I just guessed…"

"Well you guessed right," Eli replied. "We were," he took another sip of his beer. "At that ice skating place and you know, we ice skated. Then this guy shows up and skates away with her. His name's Jake and he's Clare's boyfriend. Apparently they were on a break but…I guess not."

Natasha sighed and took Eli's hand in hers. "I'm really sorry."

Eli just shrugged. "It's whatever. I don't really care."

"What happens when you go back to work tomorrow?"

"I do my job?" Eli replied. "It's not like I can just quit my job and find another one that quickly. I mean, it's difficult to find jobs you know?"

"You can work here," Natasha offered. "Ed quit earlier today, said he had to find a new job since his wife is pregnant, so there's an opening. Gunther won't mind since you've helped out a few times before. Actually he's been pressing for me to ask you to work here."

Eli seriously began to consider it. They paid around the same amount but the bar had friends and people to actually talk to. He wouldn't have to be standing outside in the extreme cold or in the extreme warmth anymore. "Actually, that's a great idea. I'm in."

Natasha immediately squealed and motioned over whoever it was working tonight. "I'm using my free alcohol for a night privileges," she smirked at Eli then turned to the waiter. "Andy, bring over the strongest thing we have. Eli and I are celebrating."

"What are you celebrating? Andy shook Eli's hand and asked.

"New job," Eli replied. "Working here now."

"Cool," Andy nodded. "That doorman job sounded terrible."

"You have no idea," Eli muttered.

"Some drinks coming up," Andy said then walked away. When he came back and put down two glasses, Eli didn't even hesitate to chug down whatever it was. His mouth burned but he didn't care. It felt good.

Plenty of drinks later, Eli and Natasha were laughing too loud but thankfully, there wasn't anyone in the bar. It was around 2 in the morning and they were left to lock up. They had the music playing loud and they were dancing like idiots but no one could see them and they were too drunk to even care about their actions.

When the music turned to a more sensual song, one that you'd hear in a club, Natasha pulled Eli to her and danced against him. Both of their bodies were pressed up against each other extremely close and Eli began to respond to Natasha's actions. His one arm wrapped around her waist while the other hand wrapped around her neck slowly. Eli felt himself getting a little worked up and excited as Natasha danced against him. Their lips were dangerously close to each others and Eli could hear his own heavy breathing and felt Natasha's breath against his. Suddenly Natasha kissed him and without hesitation he kissed her back.

With roaming hands, Eli touched Natasha's skin on her back and close to the rim of her jeans while the other hand kept a tight grip on her neck, titling her head up to him and keeping their lips firmly attached. Natasha had her hands under Eli's shirt, touching his chest and back and feeling the goosebumps appear on his extremely soft skin. When one of her hands got dangerously close to the zipper of his jeans where a large problem had appeared, he pulled back from Natasha's lips and started kissing down her jaw and nibbling on her skin.

With a moan from Natasha, Eli felt a lot more confident. He paused at her ear, breathing slowly, and then saying, "Want to go upstairs?"

Natasha nodded quickly and within a minute she had the bar locked up and was pulling Natasha up the stairs and into her apartment. Never in her life did she thank living above the bar as much as she did now. Eli slammed her into the now closed and locked apartment door and was already pulling at her shirt. Once it was off he started kissing her again, frantically and rushingly, his mind spinning with pleasure and from the large amount of alcohol he consumed. But he felt good, much better than he did that afternoon.

Eli's shirt and jeans were off quickly and Natasha pushed him back onto her bed. When she crawled over his body, she started nibbling and biting on Eli's neck, earning long groans and sensual touches on her waist and thighs. "Are you sure about this?" she whispered in his ear and ran her tongue along it.

"No," Eli said honestly. "But I don't care."

"Good," Natasha smirked as she unbuckled her own belt. "Because I don't care either."

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><p>The following afternoon, Clare was getting ready for her day. She slept in late that morning and when she came out of her room, she saw her parents had already left. There was a note left for her on the kitchen fridge saying that her parents wanted to have dinner with her that night. After showering, doing her hair and makeup, and getting dressed, she walked to the door and got ready to leave when she saw the large Christmas tree sitting at the corner of their living room. It was the same tree they always had but this was decorated differently. She couldn't see any of their handmade ornaments and it certainly made her sad that her parents didn't wait for her to put up and decorate the tree as they always did. Presents were already under the tree but most of them were from other family members sent to her own.<p>

Clare planned on going Christmas shopping that day so she put on some comfortable shoes and headed out. Once in the elevator she immediately froze and remembered the day before. She had left Eli hanging that afternoon once she saw Jake and she felt so bad at that moment. When Jake showed up and they talked, they actually worked things out and got back together officially. But then Eli, she just left him there.

When she got to the exit doors of the building she expected to see Eli standing where he usually was but there was the other doorman there.

"Oh," she said in surprise. "I'm sorry. I thought Eli would be here."

"Oh, he actually quit this morning," the doorman told her. Her face fell.

"Really?" she said sadly.

"Yup. He said he found a different job."

"Oh. Thank you for telling me. Have a good day."

"You too, Ms. Edwards."

Clare hailed for a cab and once the yellow cab pulled up beside her, she sat inside and told the cab driver to go downtown to the mall. Once there she paid the cab driver and walked in and started browsing around. She had ideas in mind for what to get her parents, Darcy, her best friend Alli, and even Jake but when she looked into a store window and saw a perfect present for Eli, the boy she wanted to get to know but ditched, she went into the store and bought it.

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><p>"Is it weird that I don't feel any sort of attachment to you? Because you know, when you sleep with someone, even if it was during a drunken night, you always usually feel like you want to be with them even if they're ridiculously ugly. But you're not ugly, actually you're far from it, you're like a Greek God actually, but I actually don't feel anything. I'm just like 'Yeah okay I slept with him but I don't really care'. How do you feel?"<p>

"Like you should stop talking while I try to make this headache go away."

Eli woke up with Natasha in his arms. Although he had a severe hangover, he knew exactly what they did. They slept together and although they previously dated, he, like Natasha was saying, had no after feelings of regret or even want to be with her. It was the most platonic one night stand ever.

"Here," Natasha said. She handed him some Advil and a glass of water. "Thank God I have the morning off too. Your first shift is tonight by the way."

"Awesome. I already texted my uncle saying I quit and he says he's cool with it, he was gonna fire me anyways," Eli laughed.

Natasha was now in her robe and laid down beside Eli in her bed, who was still unclothed under the covers. "So…what do we do now?" she asked him. She slowly put an arm around his body and smiled when he didn't pull away.

"I don't want to be together again," he said slowly.

"Oh me neither," she replied. "Yeah, one time and that's it. You being my boyfriend just does not work out. So what does this mean? We're like…friends with benefits?"

Eli hated that term. It made it sound like he was just using someone for intimacy and even if he would do that, he hated naming it. "I'm not gonna lie, you make me feel good and you make me forget the shitty things happening in my life but I don't think I could sleep with your regularly just to sleep with you."

"Does this mean we can't make out sometimes? You're a damn good kisser. That's probably the only thing I miss about you."

Eli rolled his eyes and leaned over to peck Natasha's lips. "Thanks for the compliment but sorry, I don't think we should do that either."

Natasha grabbed Eli's head and kissed him earnestly, using tongue and all as he replied with the same enthusiasm. "Just one more to remember," she said against his lips once they pulled away. She kissed him once again then got out of bed.

"So tell me about this Jake guy," Natasha said loudly from the kitchen. Eli groaned and laid back down on the bed.

"Really? You're going to bring that up?"

"Hey, you just denied me of no strings sex, I can bring that up."

"Whatever," Eli laughed. "You know those models you always point out in those pictures in that one store that I can't see nor breathe in?"

"Hollister models, yes."

"He looks like that."

"Clare is dating a Hollister model? I want one!"

"I don't know if he's an actual model. Like I said, he looked like one."

"So what are you going to do?"

Eli finally got up from bed and started to get dressed. "Well it's not like I'm going to see her anymore since I don't work at her building anymore. And she has a boyfriend so it doesn't even matter anymore."

Natasha appeared again, this time with a plate of buttered toast and some bacon strips. "Sorry it's not a fancy breakfast, I need to go grocery shopping."

Eli grabbed a piece of toast and took a big bite of it. "Wow, I'm starving. Do you wanna go out for breakfast?"

"Is my breakfast not suitable enough for you?" Natasha said appalled.

Eli shook his head. "Not even a little bit. Come on, my treat."

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><p>"You decide to buy Adam a waffle maker for Christmas? You don't even celebrate Christmas."<p>

"Yeah just because I don't celebrate Christmas doesn't mean I'm going to ignore my friends who do and yes, I'm getting him a waffle maker. It's time he starts making his own damn food."

"Well in that case," Natasha grabbed a box and put it in the basket Eli was holding. "This is instant pancake mix. All he has to do is add water to it."

"That's perfect," Eli smiled.

"Then this will be our joint present for him!"

Eli shook his head. "While I pay for the machine, you pay for the mix?"

"Your idea baby." Natasha started walking into a different aisle as Eli still browsed around the kitchen gadgets and machines when he felt someone turn him around and his lips being captured. With his eyes still open he saw Natasha kissing him so he just kissed back slightly, keeping his hands to himself while Natasha had her hands on his jaw. A few seconds later she pulled back and turned her head. Eli looked over as well and saw that Clare was standing there with shopping bags.

"Hi," Clare said softly.

"Hi Clare," Natasha replied happily. Eli could tell that Natasha had her fake enthusiastic voice on. "Christmas shopping?"

"Yeah," Clare nodded. "Hi Eli."

"Clare," Eli acknowledged. He saw Natasha giving him a look and all of a sudden he knew what she was doing. She was trying to make Clare jealous.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," Clare started saying. She kept her eyes on her shoes, obviously embarrassed. "I didn't mean to leave you."

"Whatever," Eli muttered. "That was yesterday. This is today."

"Right," Clare pressed her lips together. "I hear you got a new job. Congrats."

"Thanks."

Clare ran out of things to say so she just said, "Okay, bye then."

Eli and Natasha waved goodbye and watched as Clare quickly walked away from them. Eli stepped away from Natasha and gave her a look. "I see you're trying to make Clare jealous. Why the hell would you do that?"

"I don't know, to help you? You clearly like the girl and you just gave up just because she has a 'model-looking' boyfriend. Eli, you have to start standing up for yourself and getting the things you want!"

"And making Clare jealous by making out with you in public will do the trick? Surely, that's the recipe for success."

"Did you not see her face? She looked upset! Now I guarantee you that she's going to try to find your phone number and contact you. If that doesn't happen within the next three days then I will give you all of my tips for an entire week."

Eli remembered once that Natasha was showing off a very thick wad of cash saying that it was from just one night of tips. He smirked and held out his hand. "You've got yourself a deal. But seriously, don't just start kissing me out of nowhere."

"But do you want to make Clare jealous?"

Eli shrugged confused. "I don't know! It doesn't seem like the most effective way to start a relationship with her, lying to her to get her to talk to me."

"It'll work, trust me," Natasha assured him. "And fine, no more random kissing."

"Good," Eli sighed. "But…thanks, I guess. We'll see if you're right. But wait, how would she get my number? I never gave it to her."

"If she really wants it, she'll find a way," Natasha replied. "Now go find my Christmas present. I expect something extravagant."

"Yeah you wish," Eli said and stuck his tongue out. "Help me find something for Cece."

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><p><strong>I don't know if I said this last chapter but I will be picking favorite review and talking about it in the next chapter! I'm gonna try to do that every single chapter so make me laugh and chances are, I'll pick your review. :P<strong>

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Eli and Natasha did date previously which might make the whole making Clare jealous thing work more effectively, yeah? Yeah, we'll see! By the way, Eli and Natasha's friendship/relationship is very important in this story! Oh and Adam will be back soon! :D**

**I'll be updating more often since I'm officially on summer break now! Tweet me at hereinyourarms_ or if you're on Tumblr, I'm -here-in-your-arms . tumblr. com :)**

**Please review! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Different Sparks

**I love this chapter. I simply love it like I love all of you. Get ready for a dose of what goes through the mind of Clare Edwards. Enjoy.**

**Favorite reviews (yes, it's multiple):**

**MelissaIsLame: Sorry for the heart attack! We'll find out Eli's gift soon enough!**

**musiksnob: Glad you like Natasha! So do I! :) **

**P.S. Yes I did change my name. It's still krey11 but under the name only here in your arms. Sorry if there was any confusion!**

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><p>Clare didn't know why she felt completely embarrassed and even a little jealous seeing Eli with Natasha, in public, kissing like there was no tomorrow. She remembered that Eli said that there was nothing going on between the two of them but certainly there was. But Clare remembered that she had a boyfriend and Eli wasn't even a good friend yet so why was she acting like this?<p>

She caught a cab and headed home with her shopping bags. Clare did a lot of Christmas shopping, getting everything she wanted for her mom, dad, Darcy, Alli, and Jake. Clare got Helen a new set of earrings, her dad new fancy cufflinks and ties, Alli a couple of dresses and a bracelet, Jake a set of golf clubs which he'd been eyeing for a while. When Clare got home she started to wrap up all of the presents and she got to Eli's.

Now that he wasn't working at the building anymore and he hadn't told her where his new job was, she didn't know when she could give him the present. Christmas was still a little while away though so she was hoping she'd run into him and figure out a way to give him her present.

After a few hours of wrapping and putting the presents under her bed while listening to Christmas music, Clare finally heard the front door opening. Clare came out of her room to see Helen coming in with boat loads of shopping bags.

"Oh Clare, come help me!" Helen said happily. "I got a lot of stuff!"

"I can tell," Clare laughed. She went over and dragged the rest of the shopping bags into the hallway. She noticed that there was a lot of big boxes and many of them looked designer. "Christmas shopping?"

"Mostly yes," Helen replied. "Some just for fun. You'll never guess who I ran into today."

"Who?" Clare asked as she began to take the shopping bags into the living room.

"Amelia Martin, Jake's mom."

Clare stopped for a moment, took in what her mother just said, and said in a curious voice, "Oh? Uh…what'd you talk about?"

"Amelia says that you and Jake are back together, that's wonderful Clare! You guys are great together," Helen said excitedly. Jake is from Clare's childhood, their families were practically best friends, and Helen and Randall were all too excited when Clare and Jake got together. "But I didn't even know you guys had broken up."

"We were on a break Mom," Clare sighed. She sat down on the couch and Helen sat beside her. "Midterm exams were coming up and we needed to focus on that and we had no time for each other so we just said that after the winter break we'll get back together. I didn't realize that he would also be here for the break and we saw each other yesterday and got back together."

"Well I understand that," Helen nodded. "Your studies are important to you. What made you decide to get back together so soon?"

Clare just shrugged. "I mean, if we were going to get back together anyways why put it off?"

Helen smiled at her daughter and gave her a hug. "You guys are truly a beautiful looking couple. He's such a gentleman."

Clare smiled weakly. "He is. He's wonderful." Clare found herself forcing the smile on her face as she talked about Jake to her mom who she knew completely loved him for Clare. What no one knew is that part of the reason Clare was dating Jake was to get her mom off her back who was pushing for the relationship for years. But she really fell for him. The relationship isn't entirely based on Clare wanting to shut her mom up. But that reason still remained.

"Well what'd you get?" Clare changed the subject. She watched as her mother's face lit up and ran to the shopping bags and began showing off her new things and various Christmas presents. For the rest of the night Clare and Helen were wrapping presents together, laughing, eating cookies, and listening to their Christmas albums.

Clare felt really happy for the first time in a while being home. Whenever she would visit for a day on the weekends there was usually large tension but lately, maybe because of the holiday, there was a really warm vibe in their home. When Clare's dad came home he immediately started to help wrap presents and was even the one to make dinner. They had a fun and comfortable dinner, talking about Clare's experience in university so far, Darcy's letters that they get every month, and some about the Martins. It was the perfect night, the best that Clare could remember with her parents.

Around 9 o'clock Randall and Helen retired into their room, leaving Clare still sitting on the couch with her cup of hot chocolate and comfortable pajama pants and tank top. She sighed, relaxing into the couch as she watched the fireplace. She really missed the calm life, something you can't get when you're a college student with terribly hard classes. She decided to go to sleep early and started to get ready for bed when she got a text on her phone.

"_Up for a late night ice cream trip?_"

Clare smiled when she saw Jake's text. She quickly texted back and got dressed in her most comfortable, warm clothing, and headed downstairs to meet up with Jake who was already out front. She passed by the reception area and noticed that the man who was always there had a similar face to Eli. Clare walked up to him and the man smiled.

"Good evening Ms. Edwards," he said cheerfully.

"Hi," Clare replied slowly. "I was wondering…are you Eli's uncle?"

He started to laugh. "Yes. Yes I am. That little delinquent quit on me this morning but I was gonna fire him anyways."

"Oh," Clare said. _Delinquent?_ "Do you…by any chance…" She had no idea why she was gonna ask this. "Can you give me his number? I have something of his that I forgot to give back."

"Oh sure honey," he pulled out his phone and started writing down Eli's number and handed her the piece of paper. "Tell him hi and I'll see him on Christmas."

Clare giggled and took the paper. "Will do. Thank you."

"Heading out this late?" Eli's uncle asked curiously. "Going to a rave, aren't you?"

By the tone in his voice Clare knew he was only teasing. "Oh yeah. That's why I'm wearing sweatpants and a thick jacket."

"Best outfit to dance in," he joked back. "Have fun whatever it is you're doing tonight."

Clare smiled and waved before exiting the building and seeing her boyfriend standing with his back turned to her. She went up to him and put her hands over his eyes. "Guess who?"

"Is it the doorman?"

"No, it's someone shorter and..well, girlier."

"Don't tell me that Alli showed up!"

Clare rolled her eyes as Jake turned around and leaned down to kiss her while he smiled. "Hey, how was your day?" he asked. He held out his arm which Clare took and they started to walk.

"Great actually," Clare replied. "I got a lot of Christmas shopping done and I spent time with my mom wrapping presents. And she, my dad, and I had a great dinner. It was surprising."

"Really?" Jake asked. "Wow, that is surprising. Have they been fighting a lot since you got home?"

"The same amount," Clare shrugged. "But it seems that today, all of that tension just went away. It was weird but I don't care, I'm glad it's like this. We'll see how long it lasts."

"Did your mom tell you that she ran into mine today?"

Clare nodded. "She was really happy about it. I didn't tell her that we took a break but she's happy we got back together."

"I'm happy too." Jake pressed a kiss to the top of Clare's head and Clare blushed. She still wasn't used to the affection Jake gave her. He was her first boyfriend and she still didn't know what she was doing. But Jake did make her feel special and loved.

Jake opened the door to the ice cream shop and followed Clare inside. They went up to the counter and ordered their favorites. Clare got a cookies and cream cone while Jake got a brownie shake. They sat down at a table near the front of the shop where the big windows were.

"Do you like being back here?" Jake asked after taking a bite of his extremely thick shake.

"I love it, honestly," Clare replied. "Probably because it's Christmas. I would hate it if I wasn't home from Christmas."

"I got your Christmas present a few days ago," Jake said. This definitely caught Clare's attention. "And because I'm leaving for New York with my family tomorrow, as you know, I wanted to give it to you tonight."

"Oh…" Clare watched as Jake brought out a box from his winter jacket. It was clearly a Tiffany's box from its signature color and bow. "Oh my gosh…"

"It's not a ring," Jake assured her. Clare let out a small relieved breath. "It's just a little something to show you…how much I love you."

Clare had never heard someone tell her "I love you" before. And this caught her completely off guard. Jake was in love with her? Was she in love with him?

"You don't have to say it back," Jake said quickly when he saw Clare's surprised face. "I just needed to tell you. I've been wanting to say it for a while. So…here."

Clare took the box from Jake's hand and unwound the bow and opened the box. Inside was a key chain of the letter C with encrusted blue diamonds. "Wow…" she breathed surprisingly. "This is really beautiful Jake."

"You said you lost your key chain at school and needed a new one," Jake said while Clare admired her new chain. "And I found this one while I was shopping with my mom. I like it since the color of the diamonds are of your eyes. They even glisten like yours do. I think they're perfect. Your eyes, I mean. And you yourself. You're so perfect Clare. Wait, wow, I'm making an idiot of myself aren't I? I should just shut up now."

Clare took Jake's hand over the table and gave him a sweet gaze. "You…are the best. And you're wonderful. And…" _Should she say it when she wasn't sure?_ "I will give you your present tomorrow morning before you leave."

Jake nodded and smiled. Clare leaned over halfway while Jake took the other half and they kissed over the table. It was a simple chaste kiss, their usual since Clare didn't want to do anything more and Jake didn't want to push her. "Thank you," Clare said before sitting back down in her seat. "I'll have this with me forever."

"Forever?"

Clare froze. "I mean…"

"I'm just teasing Clare," Jake laughed. "Let's finish our ice cream and get you home. I think your parents will have a heart attack if they find out you're out late."

"Oh…I've been out late almost every day since I got back," Clare admitted sheepishly. "I couldn't take them fighting all night so I would stay out until I knew they were finished fighting."

"You didn't tell me—"

"I know, I didn't want to burden you with that. Plus we weren't back together yet so…"

"Right," Jake said. "Well, do you want to do something after?"

"Actually since my parents have actually been getting along I should probably get home. I think they might actually notice that I was gone. Plus I think I should get to sleep early if I'm gonna have to go to your place to give you your Christmas gift before you leave!"

Jake and Clare finally left the ice cream shop holding hands. Clare leaned her body to his, feeling absolutely content. "I'm sad we won't be spending our Christmas together," Jake sighed sadly. "Our families are always together on Christmas and the year we get together my parents decide to go to New York. We won't even be in the same country."

"Hey, at least we're in the same time zone," Clare said, looking up at him. "And it's not that far away. I'll call you at midnight Christmas morning, I promise."

They made it to the Castellani building and it made Clare sad to see that there was no doorman there. She forgot about Eli the entire time she was with Jake and now that she remembered, Eli's phone number was now burning in her pocket.

Jake leaned down and went to quickly kiss Clare but then she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down further to keep him at her height. She felt Jake smile as he pulled her closer and they kissed for a minute. It wasn't a heavy kiss at all, it was very sweet and slow. When Clare pulled back, she blushed when Jake's eyes were still closed. With his eyes still closed he kissed her forehead. "Goodnight Clare," he whispered to her. He kissed her lips one more time before waving goodbye and walking away.

Clare sighed at her spot and didn't move for a while. She felt as if she was in the most perfect relationship in the world. They didn't fight, they took the same classes and had the same goals, their parents were good friends, and he was too sweet to her. He confessed his love for her tonight and she didn't know how she felt yet. Sure she liked him but love was a completely different territory. Plus the fact that they really got together to shut up her parents was still a nagging factor in her mind. But when she fell for him she fell _hard_.

Finally she turned around and was going to make her way back inside when coming out of the building was Eli. She gasped quietly to herself, startled but pleasantly surprised that she saw him again so quickly. It was only earlier that day that they encountered each other but it seemed like a long time ago.

"Hi," he said to her. "Just…getting my last check."

"Check?" Clare said confused. Then she remembered. _He used to work here, Clare. Stop being an idiot_. "Oh, right. Hah, I forgot. I-, yeah, I forgot that you…"

"Don't worry about it," Eli said. "I have to go. Bye." He started walking away and Clare watched him walk away. He had his head down a bit and Clare felt a pang in her heart. She figured that he was acting cold to her because he was mad about the day before. She didn't blame him at all though; she'd be pissed too.

"Eli, wait!"

Clare watched him turn around slowly and made no move to walk towards her. So she walked over to him, stopping a few feet away. She was starting to shiver from being outside too long but she didn't care. She wanted to say something.

"I am so sorry that I left yesterday," Clare said in a bit of humiliation. She was never so rude in her life. "That was so rude of me and there is no way to justify my actions. I am a terrible person for doing that to you and I was the one who forced you out with me so I even feel more terrible for that. I understand why you're mad at me and if you don't accept my apology right away I'll understand that too. I just wanted you to know that I am really really sorry."

Clare only watched as Eli looked down and around awkwardly before looking back at her. Her heart was pounding in her chest, something she's never felt before. She didn't know what was going on with her. All she wanted at that moment was to be forgiven.

"I forgive you," Eli said. "When your boyfriend comes it's easy to choose what you're going to do, right?"

She felt herself frown. Eli was being way too understanding.

"I'll see you around," Eli finally said and turned back around, walking away, and once Clare saw him turn a corner out of her sight, she walked into the building quickly and was pressing the button to her floor way more times than necessary. Once in her floor she quietly made her way to her bedroom, hoping to God that she couldn't get caught, and changed quickly to get into bed.

Once comfortable and thawed out, Clare replayed the conversation in her mind. She felt as if she poured her heart out to Eli only to be disappointed in the reaction, although he did forgive her. She had no idea why she was unhappy about the exchange. Eli wasn't mad at her so what was the problem?

Clare got out of bed and retrieved the paper which had Eli's phone number on it. She got back into bed and typed in the number and saving it onto her phone. She wanted to text him, tell him that she's sorry once again, but she thought that that might be weird. By weird she really though awkward and creepy. So she decided she'd wait. But for how long, she didn't know.

* * *

><p>Eli got off work around 6 that night and after shopping for groceries and finally getting a Christmas present for Bullfrog and Cece, his uncle texted him about getting his final check. He walked to the Castellani, feeling awkward knowing that he wasn't gonna stand there when he came out of the building, and went to get his check.<p>

"Where are you working now?" his uncle asked him while he looked through a small box to find Eli's envelope.

"The bar, Natasha hooked up, I mean, hooked me up with a job." Eli mentally smacked himself in the forehead for his stupid goof on his words.

"You slept with her?" his uncle asked while he laughed. "Thought you broke up."

"We did but…we were drunk and—"

"Did you wrap it up?"

Eli glared at his uncle. "We may have been drunk but we weren't stupid."

"Just checking, jeez," Zach said to him still smirking. "Here's your check. By the way, the Edwards girl was asking about you."

"Really?" Eli tried to act like he wasn't interested but it definitely peaked his interest.

"Yeah, asked me for your number too."

"Did you give it to her?"

"Of course man, what kind of uncle would I be if I denied you a girl wanting to call you?"

Eli rolled his eyes. "Thanks Uncle Zach. She has a boyfriend though."

"Didn't seem like it when she wanted your number. Go home and sleep. You look like hell."

"Night," Eli replied. This was their usual exchange. He knew that his dad and his uncle were definitely related from his banter from each of them.

Eli stepped into the main area of the first floor of the building and picked up his phone which was flashing Adam's name. "What's up Adam?" Eli answered.

"Dude, there was this girl that I met while I was at the grocery store just now—"

"You're at a grocery store?"

"I'm hungry man and it's right next to my place!"

"Okay then. Continue."

"She's one of the cashiers there and apparently she's new. I went into her line since it was the shortest and she was saying how the food I was buying was a gigantic amount and I said that it was for tonight, it won't last me that long."

Eli laughed. _That was exactly like Adam._

"And she started laughing and said I was funny. She told me her name was Katie and transferred from the states to go the TU."

_Same college as Clare_. "That's cool."

"And get this dude, she said she wanted to hang out with me so we exchanged numbers! Best night of my life in a while."

"I'm happy for you man," Eli said through the phone with a big smile. "I'm sure this Katie girl is awesome."

"She is man and she's just…gorgeous. I remember when you first told me about Clare. I feel like I'm feeling what you felt then. I can't even breathe right now."

Eli remembered the first time he saw Clare. He just started working at the building during the summer and she was just coming home from a beach vacation with her parents. Eli felt as if he was hit by a truck and brought back to life the first time he laid his eyes on Clare. He was amazed, stunned, surprised, and left pretty heartbroken because she wouldn't want anything to do with the doorman of her building. But at least Adam was off to a good start.

"Do what you have to do to impress her dude. And…wait…you were wearing presentable clothes, right? Not the usual pajama pants when you're hungry and want food late at night."

Eli heard Adam scoff on the phone. "I was wearing jeans and a jacket thank you very much. There was no way I was gonna go out in my pajamas in this weather."

"Just making sure," Eli said. "Eat your food now. I'm sure you're probably starving and didn't eat just to call me."

"You know me too well my friend. Hope you're having a good a night as I am."

"I don't think I could ever have as good a night as you when you've met a girl plus have tons of food at your disposal," Eli joked.

"Yeah…I'm on a roll. Night dude."

Eli put his phone back into his pocket and made his way towards the doors of the building when he saw Clare. Not just Clare. Clare kissing that boyfriend of hers. He watched as they pulled away and he kissed her on the forehead. He left then and for some reason Clare wasn't moving. Eli rolled his eyes. _Too in love to move_. When he stepped outside he saw Clare just turning and heading in. Their eyes met each other's and he didn't know which one felt more awkward because by the look on Clare's face it was as if she wanted to run away.

"Hi," Eli finally said, breaking the silence. "Just getting my last check."

"Check?" Clare said to him. Eli raised an eyebrow. _Wow, she forgot already. _"Oh, right. Hah, I forgot. I-, yeah, I forgot that you…"

"Don't worry about it," Eli said blankly. "I have to go. Bye." He turned back around and headed down the sidewalk on the way to his place. He tilted his head down to avoid the cold winter air hitting his face until he heard her.

"Eli, wait!"

Eli turned around and didn't walk toward Clare, although the wind was practically pushing him that way. She watched as she walked to him, her hands fiddling around in nervousness.

"I am so sorry that I left yesterday," Clare began and Eli really started to listen. "That was so rude of me and there is no way to justify my actions. I am a terrible person for doing that to you and I was the one who forced you out with me so I even feel more terrible for that. I understand why you're mad at me and if you don't accept my apology right away I'll understand that too. I just wanted you to know that I am really really sorry."

Eli could tell that Clare really meant it. He wanted to tell her that he wasn't angry, well- wasn't as angry as he was, but he remembered what Natasha said to him. "_Act uninterested. Act emotionless. It'll make her wonder and make her want answers._"

"I forgive you," Eli said finally replied. "When your boyfriend comes it's easy to choose what you're going to do, right?" He felt like that was a douche move but he felt like it was true. She simply forgot about him right when her boyfriend arrived. "I'll see you around," Eli continued and for a second he waited for Clare to say something but she didn't so he walked away.

Once in his place, he pretty much fell into bed and put his phone aside on the table. He remembered that Clare now had his number and it was a matter of time before she called. _Or didn't_.

Sleep consumed him though. But thoughts of Clare consumed his dreams.

* * *

><p><strong>Yup, Eli's playing that hard-to-get game. Think Clare's falling for it? And there's Jake, the perfect loving boyfriend. Clare's got some feelings to sort out.<strong>

**And Adam, I had to give him a girl in this story and Katie seems to be someone he'll be connected to in Season 11. Through her Twitter posts and interaction with Smearle I've come to love Chloe Rose who is playing Katie in the new season. I wanted to have her in my story. :) And I like Uncle Zach. Didn't know what to call him but I decided to name him after a good friend of mine.**

**So yeah, tell me what you think PLEASE. Review would be appreciated. Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	6. The Working Plan

**All these new Degrassi Season 11 stuff will be the death of me. That is all. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

><p>Clare woke up early the following morning to her alarm. She had set it to 6 o'clock to insure enough time to get ready and drive over to Jake's parents' house which was a thirty minute drive away from her place. So she showered, dressed in semi-formal clothing because Jake's family was a pretty fancy one, and left a note for her parents telling them where she would be if they woke up. Quickly grabbing a granola bar from the pantry, Clare left the place with Jake's gift being towed by a weird tool her dad had in their extra room. She had no idea what it was called but it was used to move heavy boxes and she figured it was the perfect tool to use to transport Jake's golf club set to his place.<p>

She had called their family driver the night before saying she'd be needing a ride the next morning and once she stepped outside, she was happy to see Michael, their driver ever since Clare was thirteen, standing beside the car.

"I'm sorry, I know I said I wouldn't need you until I go back to school but—"

Michael just cut her off by taking the gift and its roller from her hand. "Clare, it's fine! Plus being with my family full time is a little…annoying, right now. You know them, they're way too eccentric for someone as easy going as me."

Michael was only 28 and never been married and hasn't had a long term relationship that Clare was aware of. Clare had grown to adore and love Michael, who was in fact gay but Michael made her promise not to tell her conservative and religious parents. It was two years ago when Clare found out about Michael's sexuality. Michael was picking her up from school but when Clare found him talking, or more accurately flirting, with someone's dad, someone she knew to be gay, it all came together. All the girly advice and talk while they were in the car all those years, it was finally clear to Clare. Michael still didn't want it to get out to his employers though so Clare kept it a secret.

"So Jake's gone over Christmas?" Michael asked from the front as they were on their way.

"Yeah," Clare sighed sadly. "The year the Martins decide to go—"

"The year you and Jake are finally together," Michael finished for her. Clare nodded. "You know, I actually didn't see that coming. I knew you and him were friends but I didn't realize that you guys had that…spark between you but hey, what do I know? I just chauffer you guys around."

"You know you're more than just a chauffeur," Clare told him honestly. Because he was more than that.

"Oh right, I'm a relationship advice giver too," Michael joked.

"You know you're one of my best friends," Clare said. "I can't talk like this to anyone other than Alli or Jake. And Jake doesn't even count anymore since he's my boyfriend and I can't talk to him about him."

"You could but that'd be a little weird," Michael scrunched up his face and shook his head. "So has he given you your Christmas present yet or were you going to exchange when you got there?"

"Oh he gave me mine last night," Clare answered. She brought out the key chain, now holding her house key, car key, and dorm key on it. Leaning over as much as she could with the seat belt holding her body back, she held out the key chain to Michael.

"Jeez, I think all the ice in the world was used for that dazzling key chain!" Michael gasped as he turned his head slightly to look at it.

"Michael," Clare warned as she rolled her eyes. She hated talking about material things and about money and expensive material things. As much as she was grateful for the live she was living, she planned on becoming successful on her own. The only money she used was for the necessary things but her parents gave her an allowance every month, which was forced on her. But she wasn't on to splurge. The reason why she had so much money to spend for Christmas was because she never used the allowances or used a little of it, so it piled up every month.

"Right right, only the _blue _ice," Michael laughed. "That's beautiful Clare. He really knows you enough to know that you think jewelry is just the cop-out Christmas gift. That boy went to Tiffany's, the fancy room of jewelry, and came out with a meaningful key chain. He's a keeper, that one."

"That he is," Clare agreed with a slight smile. "He's wonderful."

"Wonderful is what you'd describe a fancy meal at your favorite restaurant," Michael said seriously but with a slight airiness to his voice. "Wonderful is a word you use to describe something you're unsure of and use the word in place of a word you may be thinking of."

"How in the world can you get all of that just from 'wonderful'?"

"Beside the point. You're unsure about Jake, aren't you?"

"I never said that."

"Never denied it either, sister."

"I really like Jake, Michael. I really do."

"Could you love him?"

"I think I could."

"Good. Cause your mother would flip a shit."

"Tell me about it."

Once arriving at the extremely lavish Martin mansion in one of the most expensive parts of New York City, which also meant one of the most expensive places in the world, Michael helped Clare get the gift to the Martins' door. They rang the door bell and waited in the cold for an answer. Clare expected one of the Martins' maids or butlers to answer the door but she got a pleasant surprise when Jake came to open the door.

"Good morning," he smiled, making Clare's heart swoon, and he leaned down for a quick peck on the lips. "Good morning to you too Michael."

"Good morning Mr. Jake," Michael answered. "Here to deliver this monster of a present that Clare here cannot carry by herself."

"So true," Clare laughed.

"Wow, that is a pretty big present, here let me help you get it over the threshold." Jake lifted the bottom of it slightly as Michael pushed it forward, the wheels rolling over the threshold with ease. They rolled it over to the large and decorated Christmas tree and the two boys moved the box from the roller to the carpet.

"I'll get out of your way now," Michael started heading towards the door. "I'll be there when you need me Clare."

"Thanks Michael," both Jake and Clare said. Once Michael left, Jake took the opportunity to swoop down and kiss Clare, putting his hands softly on her hips and holding her to him. They kissed for a little while, with Clare's hand running through Jake's brown locks and Jake's hand gently rubbing Clare's sides. That is, until someone clearing their throat broke them apart.

Embarrassed, Clare pulled back and turned her head, seeing Jake's dad, the spitting image of Jake. "Hi Mr. Martin," Clare blushed and stepped a little bit away from Jake. "Good morning."

"It sure does look like a good morning," Mr. Martin teased. "Will you be joining us for breakfast? We still have time before our flight."

"I'd love to," Clare smiled. Jake took her hand and they walked into the large dining room.

* * *

><p>"I hate the day shifts!"<p>

Eli's day began with listening to Natasha whine and bitch about having the day shift at the bar and rarely was there a lot to do in the day shifts. Usually there'd be 4 people who'd wander into the bar every hour. So whoever was working at that time of day was left to clean, do inventory, make shipping orders, or just try to find something to do.

"At least you're getting paid," Eli reminded her. "Getting paid just to stand around, by the way."

"But I like the thrill of the nighttime shift! People ordering things left and right, seeing people drunk off their ass, it's the best part!" Natasha was sitting on the top of the bar, her feet dangling off the side, and her head thrown back and her red hair dangling behind her. "You know you're gonna act this way too after a few months. You just started working here so I know more than you."

"You do know that I spent a lot of time here since you always call me and tell me to come here whenever I didn't have a shift at the Castellani," Eli pointed out as he wiped clean a few glasses. "So it's like I worked here but didn't get paid. Also, imagine having my old job just standing there waiting for people to come into the building, having people stare at you like you're like those British guards with giant feathered hats, or even have some teenage girls try to hit on you. Yeah, I think you'd prefer this job."

Natasha hopped off the bar and held up her hands. "Okay, okay, what's got your boxers in a twist? You're never this cynical this early and you're…you."

Eli put back the glasses and threw the towel onto the bar and covered his face. "I saw…Clare last night." He was immediately greeted with smacks on his arms and upper body. "What the hell?"

"You saw Clare and you've been here for three hours and you didn't tell me?" Natasha continued to slap him until Eli took her wrists and stopped her.

"Are you done?"

"Yes. Now elaborate."

Eli sighed and leaned against the bar. "Well I was picking up my last check at the building and I was leaving and I saw Clare and _Jake_…outside…making out right where I would've been standing if I still worked there. Then once he left I went outside and she apologized about leaving me at the rink."

Natasha was entirely too eager. "And? And? And?"

"I said that I forgave her and something like, 'when your boyfriend shows up it's easy what going to choose, right?' and I walked away."

Natasha put her hands over her heart and stared in aw. Eli raised his brow, confused to the reaction he was receiving from his good friend. "I taught you well, my son," she sighed dreamily. "And that is how you play hard to get!"

"Oh and something else. My uncle said Clare asked for my number."

Natasha squealed in excitement, pumping her hands up as if she won something. Eli was never going to get used to Natasha's extreme weirdness but hey, it was amusing.

"I told you! I told you!" Natasha sing-songed and started dancing around. "She's gonna call you, she's gonna call you."

"Yeah, it totally seemed like it when she was sucking face with her boyfriend in front of her place," Eli said sarcastically.

"She asked for your number which means she must be thinking about contacting you, wanting to see you again. She wouldn't have asked for it if she wasn't going to use it. Trust me, she's going to use it. And she did apologize to you so she obviously cares about your feelings. See Eli, that's why you need a girl best friend because someone has to decipher and piece everything for you!"

It was true. Eli wouldn't have thought about any of that unless Natasha pointed it out to him. The fact that Clare had asked for his number was completely overshadowed by the fact that he saw Clare and Jake but he still thought that _maybe_ she'd call. The way Natasha explained it to him, it gave him more hope. Plus he never realized that Clare's apology actually meant that she cared about his feelings, he thought that it was more for Clare's conscience. And lastly he thought playing hard to get was kind of a douche move in his part but it seemed to be working. Clare asked for his number, apologized to him sincerely, and could at some point call him. His feelings still hadn't changed. He was still in love with her, or so he thought since he had never had feelings like this before, and that wasn't going to change just because she had a boyfriend. Now that he was finally getting some contact and talking to her it just made him want her more. He wanted to be her source of happiness. He wanted to be the one kissing her goodnight. He just wanted her so badly.

"Stop imagining all the things you want to do to Clare and help be unbox the new shipping."

Eli shook his head, finally getting back from his rampant thinking, and followed Natasha into the storage room. They had a shipment of their usual ordered alcohol that came in the night before that they had to put away. As Eli was bringing a few bottles to their storage counter in the front, the bell above the door rang and in walked a man in formal clothing.

"Hey," Eli greeted. "You new?"

"Oh no," the man laughed. "Just haven't been here in a while. I know a few people that work here but not you."

"Eli," he said after putting the bottles down and going to shake the man's hand. "Started working here only recently."

"Ah, explains why I didn't know who you are because I think I'd remember someone as attractive as you. I'm Michael, by the way."

Eli laughed and ran a hand through his hair. The tight dressy clothing probably should have signaled him that this man was gay. He appreciated the compliment though. "Well thanks," Eli replied. "You say you're not new, when was the last time you were here?"

"Before the school year started for the University of Toronto students," he answered.

"Oh so you're a student?" Eli asked. "Did you want a drink or something?"

"Oh no, actually I was just checking to see if Andy was here," Michael told him.

"Doesn't start his shift until later on tonight. Maybe you could drop by later and see him," Eli suggested.

"Maybe," Michael shrugged. "Anyways I'm not a student. I'm a student's driver."

"You're a student's _driver_? Man, that family must be loaded."

"Yeah pretty much," laughed Michael. "But I've been working for them for years now and they're pretty decent. Thankfully I'm the teenager girl's driver. I pity the man who drivers around the Mr. and Mrs. of the family. The girl I drive around is practically a saint."

"But you're her driver at school?"

"Well I was originally just the driver for the family at first but then when she started college her parents thought it would be best if I drove solely her. I live near the campus anyways so it's not really a stretch. Wow I can't believe I'm telling a stranger all of this just five minutes after meeting you, I must think that you're incredibly attractive."

"You're not the only one who thinks he's incredibly attractive Michael."

Eli was relieved once Natasha finally emerged. Not because he didn't like Michael or anything but because he felt uncomfortable at the male attention he was receiving. It was good for the ego but felt weird to receive. Now that Natasha came in, while also inflaming his ego, Eli could breathe as Michael went over to hug Natasha over the bar.

"I haven't seen you in forever!" Natasha exclaimed. "Still a driver?"

"A personal driver," Michael told her. "But I love it. Easy job."

"Did you finally get that hybrid? With the amount of driving you do, you really need a hybrid." Oh Natasha, always the environmental activist.

"Got the hybrid," Michael said proudly. "Well…_they_ got the hybrid but I kind of persuaded them into it. They said it made sense and boom! Purchased."

"Must be nice to have all that money at your disposal," Natasha sighed as her upper body was leaning over the bar. Eli went to organize all of the alcohol on the shelves and counter. "Did you find a boy yet?"

"I've found them but they're either straight or taken or just not interested," Michael replied. "Your co-worker's pretty cute though. Is he gay?"

"Yes, yes he is."

"Still here, you know" Eli said without turning around.

"Just kidding," Natasha laughed. "Eli is definitely straight."

"Bummer," Michael said disappointed but Eli could sense the lightness in Michael's tone. "You sure?"

"Positive," Eli replied.

"Wait, this is _the_ Eli? The ex-boyfriend?"

"That's the one," Natasha confirmed. "Trust me, he's straight."

"Oh my God, can we stop talking about my sexuality? It's really weird," Eli said uncomfortably. "The way you guys are talking about me makes me feel like a piece of meat."

"Okay, okay," Michael laughed. "I have to go anyways, duty calls. I'll see you two around. Eli right? Last name?"

"Goldsworthy."

"Wow, that is one sexy name. See you guys later."

* * *

><p>Clare said goodbye to Jake at his place, kissing him earnestly and hugging him tightly, trying to remember how his towering body felt against hers. She wouldn't see him for almost two weeks but Jake did offer Clare to come to New York for New Year's Eve and she promised to consider it. Who wouldn't want to be in Times Square for New Years?<p>

Once the Martin family drove away, Clare went into Michael's waiting car and Michael started heading towards the Castellani building. "Were you waiting the entire time?" Clare asked him. "Sorry it took a while."

"Oh no, I actually went to a bar."

"Please tell me you didn't drink."

Michael gasped jokingly. "Do you really think I would put my best girl in jeopardy?"

"Guess not," Clare rolled her eyes. "But why'd you go there?"

"I don't know, I haven't gone in a while and I know the people who work there. Met the newest guy working there, he is pretty good looking."

Clare smiled at the fact that she could see Michael smirking from the view of the rear view mirror. "Michael! I can't believe you managed to find someone in the two hours that I was with the Martins!"

"Oh no, no, no, no," Michael said rapidly. "He's not gay, he's just attractive."

"Oh, but still, at least you got to see some attractive people. How'd he look?"

"He had that brooding and dark vibe to him," Michael began. "I don't know, but he had some perfectly tousled black hair, let me tell ya. I wanted to take a picture of him and cherish it forever."

"That's borderline crazy," Clare told him. "But next time sneakily get a picture so I can see."

"Oh, you're looking for some fun while Jake's in New York eh?"

"Not what I meant!" Clare's jaw dropped. "You seem so crazed over this guy that I thought that I needed to see him."

"Well maybe you should come to that bar with me sometime to see him. I don't think he's on shift tonight since he was there already today but I can ask my other friend and ask when he'll be back. And don't worry I won't make you drink."

"I'm still only 18 by the way, in a few months I can legally drink, so you can't really make me drink now."

Michael laughed. "Okay, okay. So, back home?"

"Yeah back home," Clare sighed. "I'm exhausted."

"Too much classy at the Martins?"

"It can be exhausting trying to keep up with them you know," Clare sank further back in her seat. "Even though I've known them for most of my life it's still weird. But it's okay. My parents _are_ the same at Jake's parents."

"So they're like the 'Meet the Joneses' type thing, that one family that's kind of more impressive and you try to emulate."

"Yes, that's exactly right. But they're really sweet."

"Uh honey, you're dating their son, of course they're sweet. I've seen my fair share of people like the Martin parents and trust me, they're not always as sweet."

Clare rolled her eyes. "Okay Michael."

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><p>"Tell me about this Katie girl," Eli ordered Adam. They were at a burger joint, came right after Eli's shift was over, and was eager to stuff their faces in some burgers and fries.<p>

"She's has long beautiful brown hair, beautiful eyes with a unique eye shape, really sweet smile, a few inches shorter than me, God she was beautiful."

Eli threw a fry at Adam's face, hitting him smack dab on the cheek. "Dude, focus."

"Oh sorry," Adam shook his head. "Anyways like I told you she goes to college and she just started working at the market, a temporary job until break is over and she'll have the job back in the summer. She's really something Eli. I swear."

"I take your word for it," Eli replied smiling. "Maybe take her by the bar when I'm working the night shift so I can meet her."

"Oh yeah," Adam agreed. "But…a night when Natasha isn't there so Katie doesn't get intimidated by Natasha's forwardness. You know how Nat likes to get in people's faces…like, literally."

Eli laughed at the true statement. "Okay, when Natasha isn't there. Oh dude, I have to tell you about this guy that came in today who—" He was cut off by his ringing cell phone. He glared at Adam while Adam was laughing at the fact that he had trouble getting his phone out of his tight pants but finally he got his cell phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Eli? It's Clare."

Eli couldn't contain his excitement so he silently cheered at himself. Adam gave him a look but Eli just held up his finger. "Oh…hi Clare." Adam's face turned into surprise right then.

"I was just wondering…how you were…"

"I'm good," Eli answered nonchalant. He was trying to keep Natasha's words in his mind. "Having dinner with a friend."

"Oh," Eli sensed some disappointment in Clare's voice as she then spoke. "I won't keep you from your dinner then."

"It's okay," Eli said rather quickly but then cleared his throat. "We're just waiting for the food actually." That was accurate. They only got their fries appetizer.

"Oh well…I wanted to know if we could hang out sometime…soon."

"How soon?"

"Maybe tomorrow?"

Eli thought about his schedule. He was off tomorrow. Perfect. "Actually that'd good. I don't think I have work."

"Well text me if you know for sure okay? Maybe we can meet at that bookstore we walked past that day we went to the bar?"

"Sure Clare, I'll text you," Eli told her. "Have a good night."

"Bye Eli, enjoy your dinner."

Eli hung up his phone and turned to Adam, a wash of victory over his face. "I'm hanging out with Clare tomorrow."

"That's awesome!" Adam said happily. "Look at us, both getting some girl attention."

"I think you're off to the better start my friend. At least your girl is single."

"Wait…Clare asked you to hang out tomorrow…but she has a boyfriend…"

Eli's head popped up. "Dude, you're right. Do you think?"

"Did she sound sad?"

"Not really, I mean I couldn't tell. All I know is that she sounded a little disappointed when I said I was out to dinner with a friend," Eli told him.

"She's jealous!" Adam pointed out. "But you couldn't tell if she had some sad tone? Maybe they did break up."

"Times like these when we need Natasha," Eli said as he put his head in his hands. "And I doubt they broke up. They looked too happy yesterday for something crappy enough for them to break up the day after."

"Maybe Clare confessed to her boyfriend that she's attracted to the former doorman of her building?" Adam guessed, sounding a little sarcastic but serious at the same time.

"Doubtful," Eli glared. "Guess we'll see tomorrow."

"Maybe or maybe you'll continue to play hard to get and cancel on her," Adam laughed.

"I may be playing hard to get but there's no way I could pass up the chance to hang out with her." Eli sipped on his drink, staring into space, and then finally smirked to himself. He was getting the chance to spend time with Clare again. Natasha was right. This was working.

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><p><strong>Favorite reviews:<strong>

**inahotminute - I'm glad you like the way I write Adam! And yes, there'll be Katie! :)**

**we-will-not-fall-down – I'm glad you like the chapter, sorry you don't like Jake but I liked the way you told me. :P**

**It was difficult to pick only two favorite reviews this time! All of you are so sweet! For those who say that Jake is too likeable in this story, it's because I love Justin Kelly! I'm excited for his character (as well as Imogen and Katie). I don't think we'll see Imogen in this story but at least you'll get Katie!**

**As you can probably tell if you read my other stories, this one is particularly light hearted. :)**

**Thanks for all of the reviews! It really means a lot to me and I love that you all are enjoying the story!**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	7. Snowed In

**Favorite review goes to Lazerlicious: Love the fact that you made your review sound like a McDonalds' commercial. :)**

**Thank you guys for your awesome reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying the story as much as I love to write it! Sorry for the long wait but I think you may like this chapter if you ship Eli and Clare together in this story.**

**P.S. I can't believe how close Degrassi is! I'm not ready yet, nope, not at all. **

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><p>It was snowing pretty hard the next morning. Eli, after dinner with Adam the night before, made plans with Clare to have lunch and go to the movies together but it seemed that the roads were getting really bad and while walking to Clare's building, Eli was having trouble. He managed to get to the building and called Clare from the deserted lobby.<p>

"I'm downstairs," he said.

"Click my floor, it should let you stop there," Clare answered.

Eli went to the elevator and clicked the highest floor. The doors opened and Eli stepped into the hall and approached the grand door that led into Clare's penthouse. He hadn't been in any of the penthouses and especially never pictured himself actually going to Clare's place. He knocked on the door and waited.

When Clare opened the door, she was in sweatpants and a Christmas sweater, and sporting a bit smile on her face. "Hey," she said cheerfully. "I hope you don't mind but since it's really bad out, I thought we'd have lunch and watch movies here."

"Don't mind at all," Eli replied nonchalant but inside he was bursting with happiness. He walked in and was expecting it to look extravagant but it wasn't the kind that was in your face. It was very plain and subtle but the size screamed rich.

"Welcome," Clare said smiling. "My parents are gone to work already and I doubt they'll be able to get back until late so we're here alone for the day."

_Alone_. It was daunting to Eli that he would be alone with Clare for an entire day and the fact that she suggested that they'd be alone for _the day_. He thought they'd eat lunch and they'd watch one movie and he'd go home. Nope, she wanted him there for the day.

Eli walked into the living room and found an extravagant Christmas tree in the corner and the most high-tech entertainment system beside it, along with a fireplace and a grand half circle couch. This room itself was probably more expensive than his apartment, his parent's place, and Adam's place combined.

"Have a seat," Clare gestured to the center of the couch where blankets were and the ottoman right in front of it had lunch and junk food already there. Eli took his shoes off and placed the blanket over his lap when he sat down. It was already more comfortable than his bed.

"So…scary movies or adventure or romantic or whatever you want."

"Uh…you choose." Eli couldn't pick right now. Clare was practically floating as she walked around in her living room approaching the collection of DVD's. She looked like an angel, she looked like she should've been on top of the tree. Even with her sweatpants.

"Do you mind if we watch Christmas movies? I usually have marathons of them this time of year," Clare said with the most innocent facial expression. He nodded and she popped in a few DVD's in the player so that she wouldn't have to stand up to put in the next movie. She sat down a foot away from Eli, putting her own blanket in her lap and pressed play.

"Winnie the Pooh?" Eli asked, referring to her blanket.

Clare blushed and pulled up her blanket. "I've had this since I was five. It's…special."

"It's cute," Eli laughed. "It's very you."

Suddenly Eli heard cheery Christmas music from the TV and smiled when he saw that Clare picked "Elf" for their first movie. "Nice choice," he commented. "I actually love this movie."

"Who doesn't?" Clare teased. "This is my favorite Christmas movie. I just love Christmas so much. Are you a fan of Christmas?"

Eli bit his lip, unsure if he should actually tell her the truth. But he didn't want to lie to her. "I…actually don't celebrate Christmas. I'm an atheist."

Eli watched as Clare's face dropped, not in disgust which he feared, but in disappointment. "I shouldn't have made you watch Christmas movies then, I'm so sorry," she said quickly and went to stop the DVD but Eli grabbed her hand and she stopped.

"I don't mind," he laughed and Clare relaxed, the hand which held the remote and also the one Eli was holding went down to the couch. "Really. Like I said, I love this movie. And I've spent a lot of time watching Christmas movies. Natasha and my other best friend Adam have watched a fair share of them."

"Well…just as long as you're not uncomfortable," Clare mumbled, pursing her lips and turning back to the TV.

Eli found it really endearing and sweet that Clare's first thought was that he would be uncomfortable. He was slightly afraid that the cross-wearing Clare, who had a few crosses on her Christmas tree, who had a family picture on the wall of her family at a church, would not be pleased to know that he was an atheist. But she seemed to be perfectly okay with it.

After a few minutes he realized that his hand was wrapped around Clare's, the remote control no longer in her grip. They were holding hands over their blankets and when he moved his fingers slightly, Clare's head turned and she moved her hand away as if Eli's skin was on fire.

"Sorry," she squealed. "I didn't notice that I-, we, I mean—"

"It's okay," he assured her and he put his hand back in his lap.

During the movie, Eli snuck glances at Clare who was giggling to herself whenever Buddy the Elf would do something silly and sang along as Jovie sang in the shower with Buddy singing along outside. Eli found himself watching Clare more so than the movie itself. He'd turn his head away quickly when he thought Clare caught him but he would always look back discreetly.

They ate pasta which Clare made for them before Eli came over and by the second movie, this time being Love Actually, they were onto soda, chips, and sweets.

"Poor guy," Eli said with popcorn in his mouth. "In love with his best friend's new wife. Why didn't he tell her before? Like, when before his best friend married her?"

"It's not always that easy," Clare replied as she grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl sitting between herself and Eli. "I doubt that Mark would've actually wanted to hurt Peter. I guess his relationship with his best friend meant more to him than his feelings for Juliet."

"Okay, but look here," Eli pointed at the TV and they both watched the scene. "Every single shot of this video that Mark took was focusing in on Juliet. While she's dancing, while she's smiling, and a lot of it is her face. Maybe if he actually made a move before, things might've worked between them. And didn't Juliet say that Mark kept ignoring her? What does that do?"

"It keeps you from getting disappointed," Clare answered stoically. Eli saw her sink back down in the couch and he followed suit.

"Sorry, no more depressing commentary," Eli promised. He stuffed his mouth with popcorn sadly, mentally slapping himself for having depressed Clare. He wasn't sure why she was sad or mad but she was definitely not happy. Nice job, Eli. Way to make the most of your time with Clare.

They were on their fourth movie and by that time it was nearing 7 o'clock. By this time, Clare's head was in Eli's lap. The food was pretty much gone. And from the view Eli could see from the closest window, the snowstorm had stopped but he was sure that the roads were definitely blocked.

"This movie is boring you, huh?"

Clare turned her head in his lap looking up at him and he shook his head. "No, it's actually really amusing. Their family interacts like my extended one around this time of year."

"But—" Eli could see that Clare got confused so he began to clarify.

"Just because I'm an atheist doesn't mean everyone in my family is," Eli told her. "My parents and my extended family all celebrate Christmas and they accept that I don't but they make me come to the family thing that happens every year. It's always at my parents' place so it's not a hassle. And even though I don't celebrate it myself, I still get my parents and some friends presents."

"Which friends?" Clare asked curiously.

"Adam and Natasha," Eli answered honestly. "They're really the only ones I know well enough that I actually want to give them something this time of the year. I got Adam a waffle maker this year."

Clare laughed and Eli wanted to brush the curl out of her face which was blocking one of her beautiful blue eyes. "This Adam…how long have you known him?"

"Since we were in elementary school," Eli answered with a smirk. "First time I met him, he stole one of my fruit roll-ups and I pushed him down. We both were sent to the principal's office and we've been best friends ever since."

"Wow, that's a lovely way to start a friendship," Clare replied but the lightness in her voice indicated that she liked it. "What about…Natasha?"

When Clare shifted her eyes away from him as she inquired about Natasha, Eli smirked to himself. Clare seemed to be too curious about her. He continued to keep Natasha's words in mind and asked, "What about her?"

Clare got up from his lap and he wanted to whine at the loss of contact but Clare sat closer to him and she placed her blanket over both of their laps, the movie now forgotten.

"Well you told me she wasn't your type and being with her would be weird since you've known her for so long but then I saw you two together that one day and…I don't know, the chemistry between you two seems to be electric," Clare told him, her hands moving animatedly. Eli heard once that if a girl seemed to use her hands a lot as she talked, she was nervous. Why was Clare nervous? Did he make her nervous?

"Uh…" Eli tried to think quick of his response, one that Natasha would quickly whisper in his ear if she were present. "We used to date and I thought she'd gotten over our breakup but apparently not. We're just really really good friends."

"I don't know…that was a pretty steamy make-out session that I walked in on," Clare teased as she rested her head on the couch cushions behind her.

The vision of Clare with her face half covered and her hair over her so perfectly and the only eye visible to him glistening from the perfect lighting from the window was one that he wanted to take a picture of and keep forever. In such a natural state, in her own comfort zone, Clare was even more beautiful than any other moment he'd seen her.

"It was nothing," Eli played off. "Don't tell her I said this but I got her Yankees opening game tickets."

"Wow," Clare's jaw dropped. "That's really special."

"Well she's a diehard Yankees fan and she was going to be in New York during that week anyways so I thought I'd do something really awesome for her. I owe her, she's been through hell and back with me."

He was half expecting Clare to ask about it but she had an understanding look on her face, as if saving that question for another day. He was about to ask her questions about her friends when the front door opened with the sound of laughter. Clare got up to check who it was and Eli quickly tried to fix the mess they made on the ottoman holding all their food.

Eli didn't even pay attention to what was going on outside the living room until he heard Clare screaming. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?"

He froze, as if if he made a move he'd just make things worse. He listened in to the conversation, not like he had a choice, and listened to Clare pained words.

"Honey, I've been seeing this man for a while," Helen Edwards said. Eli could recognize her voice. "We weren't going to tell you until after Christmas but your father and I have decided to get a divorce."

Their conversation continued and Eli tuned out until he heard angrily say, "I'm not staying here. I'm not spending Christmas with the parents who lie to me and act as if everything is okay." Eli waited for while and he tried to watch the movie, he couldn't even remember what it was called. Then Clare came in holding a duffel bag and she was fighting back tears. She was dressed in a heavy jacket and was already wearing her boots.

"Do you mind if we leave?" Clare asked him. Eli didn't hesitate to say yes.

He followed her to the door, keeping his head down as he passed by Clare's mother. He thought they were in the clear but a voice stopped them.

"Clare, who is this?" Of course Helen Edwards wouldn't recognize the doorman who greeted her every day for several months.

"This is my _friend_, Eli," Clare answered annoyed. "We're leaving."

"Are you cheating on Jake?" Helen asked in an appalled tone. Eli stepped aside as Clare walked up to her mother.

"You don't get to ask me that," Clare scowled in Helen's face. "And no, I'm not. Eli is a good friend of mine and you've seen him before. He was the doorman."

"The doorman?" Eli felt a pang in his heart when Helen laughed, as if pitying him. "You've befriended the doorman?"

A man emerged from the kitchen and when Eli made eye-contact with him, his eyes bulged. "Mr. Kelly?"

The man who had been whispering into his phone, the man who came home at odd hours of the day, the man who was obviously cheating on his wife Grace. Eli knew that Austin Kelly had been cheating but never in a million years would think that it was with Clare's mom.

"Eli," Austin gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"So you're—" Eli couldn't speak. It was like a movie playing out in front of him. He just found the cheater in the act and it was made all too surreal while he stood in the house of the girl he loved while the girl he loved was angry at her mom.

"Please don't say anything to Grace," Austin pleaded quickly.

"But you have a baby," Eli said, still in disbelief. "You have your own family. How could you—"

"Listen here," Austin grabbed Eli's jacket collar and lifted him up slightly. "You don't get to tell anyone about this. You're just a lousy poor doorman who wishes he could get two women like me. If you say something I'll have your scrawny ass fired from your ridiculous job."

Eli shoved him away, not enough to hurt him but just enough to have a good amount of distance. "I don't work here anymore, so lucky for you I don't get to see your _wife_ so I can't tell her myself. You're a pig, I hope you know that, ruining two families at the same time."

He finally headed towards the door, steaming with anger and livid at the words Austin spat at him, but he felt someone grab his hand. Clare was giving him a reassuring smile and they left Clare's penthouse together.

In the elevator, they stood in silence as they made their way to the lobby.

"I have nowhere to go," Clare whispered. "Can't go back there. Maybe I'll go to a hotel…if it's not already booked full because of the season. Damn it."

That was the first time Eli heard Clare curse and as much as he himself cursed, it just didn't sound right from Clare's mouth. He looked over at her and she was whispering to herself, options of what to do, and finally he said, "You can stay with me."

"I would be grateful but…Christmas, you and your family," Clare hesitantly replied.

"They won't mind," Eli assured her with a smile. "Really. You can stay at my apartment and we'll go there tomorrow night since they're making me be there before Christmas Eve."

Clare finally nodded and they headed out of the building. There was a snow plow working diligently to clear the streets but the snow was unrelenting. Eli and Clare trudged through the sidewalk, also with its good amount of snow. As Eli walked, he realized that Clare was lagging behind, her feet sinking into the snow.

Eli took her bag from her and took a hold on her hand, helping her walk through. He would never get tired of her smile, especially since she kept smiling at him. They got to Eli's apartment and he quickly changed the sheets on his bed as Clare was in the bathroom, and he got extra sheets and pillows and put them on the couch for himself.

Eli made them dinner, the only thing he knew how to make which was macaroni and cheese, but Clare assured him that she loved it. After Eli washed the dishes, much to Clare's protests, he found her laying out the sheets on the couch.

"You're sleeping in my room," Eli told her, taking the sheets away from her.

"No, I don't—"

"Clare, I think you should know me well enough now that I can't let you take the lesser of the two," Eli laughed. He walked her into his room and brings her duffel bag in as well, leaving it beside a wall.

"Eli," Clare said right as he was leaving the room. She came up to him and put her arms around his neck and Eli slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, relishing in the proximity and trying to sketch the smell of her hair in his mind. "Thank you, you're so sweet for doing this."

"No problem," Eli laughed.

Clare looked up at him, her arms still around his neck, and Eli was caught off guard as Clare kept looking back and forth from his eyes to his mouth. He felt her fingers wrapping around the hair at the nape of his neck and felt her pulling down his head to her. She tilted her head and Eli felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest.

But right as their lips were going to touch, Eli turned his head and the kiss was pressed upon his cheek. He felt Clare's grip on his hair loosen a bit but she lingered on with the kiss on the cheek, pulling away seconds later.

"Goodnight," Clare breathed, trying to hide her disappointment. Her eyes showed it though, they wouldn't look into Eli's.

"Goodnight Clare," Eli replied and he closed the door, putting his back on it and sighing.

He could've sworn he felt a thud on the other side of the door and he pressed his ear against the wood, trying to hear if Clare was saying anything.

"What are you doing Clare?" she was whispering to herself. "You have a boyfriend. _Jake_ is your boyfriend, not _Eli_. But…Eli…wow."

Eli walked away from the door and prepared the couch, sighing as he laid down on it. Clare was in his room, questioning herself, and he didn't know what she meant by 'wow' but he hoped it was a good thing.

As much as he wanted to kiss her, and he did, he so did, he didn't want their first kiss to result in a feeling of guilt from Clare. Kissing him meant cheating on her boyfriend and Eli wanted their first kiss to be more special than that. So it took all of his might to turn his head but he could live with the kiss on the cheek for now. The way her lips felt on his skin was glorious and still tingled as he focused on it.

Then he realized he would be spending the next few days with Clare, around his ridiculous family. He wasn't a fan of the big family gathering during Christmas, and knowing his family, they'll have a lot to say about bringing a girl over for their Christmas celebration.

But he couldn't let Clare just go to a hotel for Christmas. If she didn't want to spend it with her family then he'd let her spend it with his.


	8. First Dinner

**Favorite review goes to Hamster157: Recipe for disaster eh? Hahaha, thank you for the review!**

**Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing! Glad to know you're enjoying this! Tonight (July 19) is LoveGame, or the first episode of Jake Martin and introducing the Cake/Eclare battle and I am not prepared. I would not be able to write stories where they're in their teenage years in high school. THANK GOODNESS FOR AU STORIES! Hahaha, expect more updates, I will try not to stop writing even if my Eclare heart hurts. :P**

**Onto the chapter! Please review after and thank you for reading!**

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><p>"There are a few things you should know before we get there…"<p>

Eli and Clare were driving to Eli's parents' place, after the night traffic and through the light snow. Clare had gone to her place first while her parents were gone to pack more clothes and they were off, going to the Goldsworthy house.

"First," Eli cleared his throat. "My family likes inappropriate jokes so I'm sorry if you get offended."

Clare giggled. "I won't get offended. I'm in college, inappropriate jokes are my life."

"Second. I have a few young cousins and they're pretty energetic so just watch out and get out of their way if they're running around because they will knock you down if you're not careful." Eli wasn't kidding. He'd been pushed down several times by his cousins accidentally. Or deliberately. You never know with them.

"And lastly," Eli said. "They, no matter what, will make jokes about you and me. I called my parents and said I had a friend coming with me and of course they asked who so I said you. Just…prepare yourself for some relationship jokes. Just laugh it off."

"That's what I was planning on," Clare replied. "Don't worry. I'm just happy they're letting me stay through Christmas. I don't want to be a burden."

"You won't be," he assured her. "I just hope you don't go running for the hills."

They arrived at the Goldsworthy house and Clare approached the door while Eli got their suitcases from the back. Once he got to the door, he realized that Clare hadn't rung the doorbell yet. "You scared?" he teased and brought out his keys.

"Nervous," Clare admitted sheepishly. "What if they don't like me?"

"They'll love you," Eli smiled. He opened the door and allowed Clare in first and walked in right behind her. "Hey! Mom, Dad, I'm here!"

"Eli! Is that you?"

"Yes Mom, who else calls you Mom?"

"Is your girlfriend with you?"

Eli turned red and looked at Clare, who also had blushing cheeks. Thank goodness he wasn't the only one who was embarrassed. And right from the start.

"Not my girlfriend!" Eli set the suitcases beside the stairs and put his hand on Clare's back, leading her toward the kitchen where he knew his mom would be judging from the smell. He smiled at her before they finally walked into the kitchen.

Cece Goldsworthy had an apron on and was folding some kind of batter when Eli came in and she lit up once she saw her son. Eli braced himself for the big hug to come. Cece walked over to him and engulfed him a super tight hug and Eli felt some of his bones crack.

"Baby boy I haven't seen you in so long!" Cece was musing, shifting him back and forth.

"Only been a few months Mom," Eli laughed and pried himself away from her. Once he was out of her death grip, he stood beside Clare. "Mom, this is Clare. Clare, this is my mom, Cece."

Cece put her hands over her mouth and squealed like a little girl. Eli saw Clare blush even more and was very amused. "My _God_ you are gorgeous! Look at you!" Cece opened her arms for a hug and Clare returned it hesitantly. "You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen!"

"Thank you," Clare replied laughing. "Thank you for letting me stay, I know it was last minute."

"Oh honey," Cece said while letting her go. "It's our pleasure. We couldn't let one of Eli's _friends_ be alone during the holiday. Did you guys have a nice drive here?"

"Yes," Eli and Clare said in unison. They looked at each other briefly and started laughing.

When Eli looked at Cece after he stopped, he saw a sly smile on her face. He started mouthing to her, "Stop, nothing is going on," and stopped when Clare looked at him again.

"Um…can I get settled it? I feel a little gross from the car ride and I'd like to change before dinner," Clare said. Eli led her out of the kitchen but not before looking back at his mom and gesturing for her to cut it out. She rolled her eyes at him and Eli went on to leading Clare to the guest room, right next to his own.

"It's lovely," Clare commented when they walked into the guest room.

"Cece decorated it," Eli replied. He set her suitcase by her bed. "Dinner should probably be ready soon and I'm pretty sure a few of my family members will be coming here for a Christmas Eve Eve dinner."

"Oh," Clare turned a little pale. "Should I…dress up?"

"No you look perfect," Eli told her.

"I'll change into something else though," Clare replied. "The long car ride feeling is like, all over my clothes."

"Never knew that that was an actual feeling," Eli joked. "But I'll let you have some privacy. I'll come get you once dinner starts."

Eli walked into his own room and brought his suitcase with him. He changed into a gray v-neck and put on his black blazer on top and shook his hair a little bit. He went back downstairs and just as he neared the final step, the front door opened and two little kids ran inside. His dad Bullfrog was right behind, along with his uncle Zach and his wife Quinn.

"When'd you get here?" Bullfrog asked once he saw Eli.

"Nice welcome," Eli scoffed. "Ten minutes ago." He approached Aunt Quinn and gave her a hug and shook Uncle Zach's hand. "Nice to see you guys again."

"How's the new job?" Uncle Zach asked. They all made their way into the living room.

"Awesome," Eli replied. "I like it so much better. Did you replace me yet?"

"After Christmas I will," Zach answered.

"Did you bring the girl you mentioned?" Bullfrog asked curiously.

"Hold the phone! You brought a girl?"

Eli shushed his uncle immediately, because Zach talked too loud for his liking. "She's upstairs, don't embarrass me," Eli warned.

"Me? Embarrassing? Please!"

Eli looked to his aunt pleadingly and Quinn shook Zach's arm. "Don't be mean," she told him. "I'd like to meet Eli's girlfriend before you scare her."

"She's not my girlfriend," Eli added quickly. "Something happened with her family and I suggested she come here since she celebrates Christmas. I didn't want her to be alone."

"Aww," Quinn smiled. "That's really sweet."

"You like this girl don't you?" Zach asked him.

"No."

All of the adults looked at him and Eli put his arms up. "What? I don't so please don't embarrass me. I'd like for her to have a good holiday because her family kind of fell apart on her so please, keep it to a minimum.

"Dinner's ready!"

The adults went into the dining room while Eli walked upstairs and knocked on Clare's door. "Clare, dinner's ready."

The door opened and Eli's breath was taken away when he saw Clare, dressed in a modest white dress with a belt at her waist. He stared at her for a little while, amazed, until Clare's hand waved over his face.

"Oh sorry," Eli snapped out of it and pointed downstairs. "Dinner's ready."

"Did your relatives come?" Clare asked. They started walking down the stairs together and made their way towards the dining room.

"Yeah and just remember what I told you before," Eli whispered before they entered the dining room. The large table was packed with food and there 8 chairs around the round table, two empty for Eli and Clare right next to Eli's parents. Eli pulled out Clare's chair and pushed it forward a bit when Clare sat down and took his seat next to her.

Through this entire time, Zach and Quinn's two children Annie and Jordan were fighting over some utensils, but the adults were all silent and staring at them. Eli sighed and shook his head.

"Uncle Zach, Aunt Quinn, Dad, this is Clare."

Eli saw his uncle smirk and laughing. "So…I'm guessing that you called him."

Eli groaned and covered his eyes. He didn't look towards Clare but he was sure she was probably red. "Uh…yeah," Clare laughed nervously. "I did. Thanks for welcoming me."

"Our pleasure Clarebear," Bullfrog said. Oh great, now he has a nickname for her already. "So how about we start dinner?"

For an entire hour, the dining room was filled with laughter and jokes. Bullfrog and Zach actually toned down the embarrassment and only teased Clare a little bit but just went on to talk about stories in their own life, Zach's at the penthouse building and Bullfrog at his job. Eli has heard most of the stories before so their story telling was mostly for Clare's enjoyment and she seemed to be very attentive and interested. She'd ask follow-up questions that would make both men happy to answer. Eli liked that Clare was comfortable around his family. But this was only the beginning. When a lot of his family comes along for Christmas Eve and Christmas, it may not be as tame.

"Okay Clare, make it or break it question…favorite animal?" Uncle Zach asked so seriously and cryptically. Eli looked at Clare over his glass as he drank and she raised an eyebrow.

"Uh…panda?"

Clare said it was so much hesitance and unsureness that Eli found it insanely adorable that he had to laugh. He choked on his drink a bit and started laughing. Everyone at the table started laughing with him, except for Clare, who had no idea what was going on.

"Did I say the wrong thing?" Clare asked worriedly. She looked at Eli who finally gained his composure and while everyone else was still laughing, he leaned over to her.

"They expected you to say a bullfrog but the way you said it, like you were answering a question on a test, that's why it's kinda funny," he whispered and smirked.

Clare playfully glared at him. "I'm sorry that your uncle sounded like my stay here would depend on my answer and I don't appreciate you making fun of me."

"I'm sorry," Eli replied and put his hand over Clare's. "How can I make it up to you?"

Clare's eyes drifted towards their hands and back to Eli, who was still leaning in very close. Eli gulped at the proximity but he was feeling a little reckless, confident. Her cheeks turned pink again and he waited for her answer.

"How about you just don't make fun of me the rest of this trip," Clare suggested.

"Done," Eli replied. "Can't promise for them though."

"Well, if one person isn't teasing me then that's good enough for me."

After dinner, everyone went into the living room to watch a movie. While Annie and Jordan were on their stomachs on the floor, Cece and Bullfrog were sharing one chair much to Eli's disgust, Uncle Zach and Aunt Quinn were on one couch snuggled close and Eli and Clare were on opposite ends of another.

Cece brought four blankets and the one she handed to Eli was not long enough to spread over the entire couch for him and Clare to share. Eli saw Cece's smug smirk and knew that she had planned it. Eli opened up the blanket and handed it over to Clare.

"You can have it," Eli told her. "I'm not cold."

When Clare took the blanket, their hands brushed and Clare noticed his icy skin. "Well…how about we share?" she suggested.

"Uh…"

Clare climbed into Eli's lap and draped the blanket over them and with her hands, she connected the two ends over her stomach and laid her back on his front. Eli heart beat was so rapid that he knew that Clare must've felt it. There's no way she couldn't have, he felt like it was bursting out of his chest.

"You okay?" Clare titled her head back and said.

"Never better," Eli replied nervously but smiled. She gave a warm smile back and nestled comfortable in Clare's lap. Eli didn't know where to put his hands but the courageous and reckless feeling from earlier came back and he wrapped his arms loosely around Clare's waist. She turned back to look at him again and he was ready to apologize and keep his hands to himself but she only smiled and went back to watching the movie.

By the time it was over, four people in the room were asleep. Annie and Jordan, who were still curled up on the floor, Aunt Quinn, who works as a nurse and has crazy shifts, and Clare, who's head was titled towards Eli's neck and her deep and warm breathing against his skin was creating problems for Eli.

After some suggestive stares from the two Goldsworthy men, Eli took Clare up to the guest room and tucked her into bed. He moved her bangs and curls and got a good look of Clare's face, sleeping peacefully with a small smile. He leaned down and kissed her forehead before leaving the room to go to his own.

* * *

><p>"Mom, please stop."<p>

"You two were cuddling last night! And you looked a little uncomfortable at the beginning and you told me you weren't dating so the only thing I can assume is that you have feelings for this really lovely girl."

"So you like her?"

"So do you."

"_Mom_."

Eli groaned and put his hands over his face. He'd gotten up earlier than usual and found his mother drinking coffee in the kitchen and joined her. Her first question was about Clare and it hadn't stopped for an hour.

"Elijah, you have _never_ asked a girl to come home with you for something this special. A birthday party, maybe, but you haven't brought a girl home for Christmas ever and I know that's because you don't believe in God and you're so mopey this time of year and now—look at you! You can't stop smiling, you're flirting with Clare in front of our eyes, and I've never seen you this happy!"

Cece was so happy and excited that Eli had to calm her down and make sure she didn't talk so loud. "Mom, please watch your voice. If you hadn't remembered, Clare is upstairs. And besides, she has a boyfriend so it's not like what I feel matters."

Cece got curious and asked, "So why isn't she with her boyfriend for Christmas?"

Eli was about to answer when he realized he had no idea. He hadn't even asked Clare. Why couldn't she stay with him? What if— wait no, she mentioned last night that she was still with Jake so…

"I don't know," Eli answered honestly. "She didn't bring it up. Maybe he's out of town?"

"Think her boyfriend would mind that she's spending Christmas with another guy's family?"

Eli rolled his eyes. "Probably. I'd be pissed but who knows, maybe Clare called him and told him."

"But you like her, don't you? Just admit it."

"Fine! I _like_ her, okay? I have for months and she only knew of my existence when she came back from college. I just…I like her and it'll be unrequited, she'll never feel the same way. She's always going to see me as her doorman," Eli sighed and gripped his mug tightly. "She's beautiful and practically Toronto royalty. I'm just someone who worked at the front of her building."

Footsteps started coming down the stairs and Eli shut up quickly, hoping that whoever it was didn't hear what he and Cece had been talking about. Clare came into the kitchen, changed out of her dress that she wore when she fell asleep, but she had a nice head of bed hair.

"Morning," Clare greeted softly and went to stand where Eli was standing against the island.

"Sleep well?" Cece asked before Eli got to it.

"I did, really great," Clare smiled. "Can I have some coffee?"

"Of course." Cece made Clare a cup and the three stood awkwardly and silently for a little while. Eli could see Cece smirking under her cup and Clare was biting her lip, was she bored or uncomfortable?

"So Clare," Cece said out of nowhere. "Would you like to go last minute shopping with me? There's still a few stores open even though it's Christmas Eve but I'd rather not have Bullfrog or Eli whining beside me."

"I'd love to," Clare accepted happily. "Should I get ready now?"

"You always look perfect," Eli mumbled into his cup but when Clare glanced at him for a split second, he thought he'd been caught.

"We'll leave in two hours?" Cece asked.

Clare nodded and exited the kitchen and Eli let out a relieved sigh. But Clare came waltzing back and he stiffened up again. "I'm sorry, I'm being rude, can I bring my coffee with me upstairs?"

"Of course honey," Cece assured her. Clare left again and Eli put his cup onto the counter and lifted up his arms in annoyance.

"What the hell is going on with me?" Eli questioned himself as his arms were raised.

Cece walked up to him and patted his shoulder. "That's love, baby." Then she walked out.

* * *

><p>Clare woke up feeling absolutely refreshed and happy and comfortable, that until she realized she was still wearing her white dress. She changed into sweats and a sweater before heading downstairs quietly, not making much noise hoping that she wouldn't wake anyone up. Eli's door was closed, as was his parents', so she was careful when she made every step.<p>

"…you haven't brought a girl home for Christmas ever," Cece was saying and Clare froze on her spot on the stairs. She didn't want to eavesdrop but she knew Cece must've been talking to Eli about her. "You're so mopey this time of year and now—look at you! You can't stop smiling, you're flirting with Clare in front of our eyes, and I've never seen you this happy!"

Never seen him this happy? Clare was stunned to hear that she had this effect on him. But maybe it wasn't her, maybe she was being too conceited about the situation. She heard Eli shushing his mom and saying, "Mom, please watch your voice. If you hadn't remembered, Clare is upstairs. And besides, she has a boyfriend so it's not like what I feel matters."

What he feels? How does he feel? He was always so cool and calm, what does he feel?

"So why isn't she with her boyfriend for Christmas?"

Oh. Jake. Crap. Clare's jaw dropped, realizing she hadn't even called Jake or gone out of her way to contact him. Then she just suddenly went away with her friend who's a guy and she knew Jake would not like this at all. Oh God.

"I don't know, she didn't bring it up. Maybe he's out of town?"

"Think her boyfriend would mind that she's spending Christmas with another guy's family?"

_Probably_, Clare spoke in her mind.

"Probably. I'd be pissed but who knows, maybe Clare called him and told him."

Clare felt a pang in her heart. She hadn't done that. Oh great.

"But you like her, don't you? Just admit it." Clare's eyes widened even more.

Then Clare heard Eli admitting that he liked her but didn't think she'd return his feelings because he was the doorman. But that didn't matter at all to Clare. Eli was a great guy no matter his occupation. It just made her feel bad that it took her a lot time to pay attention.

She walked back up the top of the stairs quietly and walked down them again, making sure to make them noticeable so they would know she was coming. When she walked into the kitchen, she said a quiet "Morning" and stood beside Eli who she saw leaning uncomfortable against the kitchen island.

"Sleep well?" Cece asked her.

She smiled. "I did," she admitted. "Really great. Can I have some coffee?"

After receiving her cup of coffee from Cece, they all shared an awkward silence for a little while. Clare just focused on her cup, a little embarrassed about the fact that she'd listen into their conversation.

"So Clare," Cece was the first to break the tension. "Would you like to go last minute shopping with me?" Cece said a little more but Clare already made up her mind.

"I'd love to, should I get ready now?" Clare thought she sounded all too eager but she felt that if she stayed in the house, it would get really awkward. Plus she didn't mind some girl time.

Eli muttered something while drinking his coffee and Clare looked at him, wanting to know what he said, but Eli turned away.

"We'll leave in two hours?"

Clare nodded and walked out of the kitchen but then realized she still had the cup of coffee with her. She turned back around, seeing Eli releasing what seemed to be a deep breath, and she said, "I'm sorry, I'm being rude, can I bring my coffee with me upstairs?"

"Of course honey," Cece replied and Clare quickly went upstairs not wanting to intrude on their conversation even more. She set aside her cup of coffee and grabbed her change of clothes and everything else she needed and went straight to the bathroom.

She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. How in the world could she forget to call her boyfriend and tell him that she was staying elsewhere for Christmas? How could she actually tell him that she was staying at a guy's place? Jake would be so mad and she had no idea what to do. But Eli's family had welcomed her with open arms and she was so glad to have an actual family environment for Christmas.

She'd call Jake and explain everything. Not much she could do about it now since she was already there. Jake would understand. Maybe.


	9. Christmas Eve

**Favorite review goes to: percabeth13! Here's the update! Don't have a minor heart attack!**

**Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing, it really really means a lot. :)**

**Tell me what you think of Season 11 so far, along with your review! ;) My favorite episode by far has to be Cry Me a River pt. 1. It was phenomenal.**

**P.S. Eli's cousins Annie and Jordan? Clark and Todosey of course!**

**Please review and thank you for reading!**

* * *

><p>Clare spent several hours with Cece, trying to shop through the biggest crowds at the mall, and it was total mayhem. Cece had linked her arm around Clare's so that neither of them would lose each other but it was very difficult to shop in some stores due to the last minute shopping going on. They did manage to buy things, more Cece than Clare, but Clare did buy presents for Eli's uncle and aunt and his two cousins that she met. She wasn't sure who else would be coming and she did ask Cece but she assured her that presents wouldn't be necessary for all of them.<p>

"I just don't want to make a bad impression," Clare admitted to Cece while they took a food break in the food court.

"Clare, you already won all of us over last night, everyone else will be smooth sailing." Cece smiled and Clare automatically felt comforted. She was so glad that Cece liked her enough to invite her shopping. Plus she loved shopping with Cece more than her own mother. Helen preferred the high end, designer, expensive things. But Cece had taken her to the local mall and it was so much better than walking in downtown Toronto.

By the time they were going home, it was already 3 o'clock and Cece was afraid she wouldn't be able to finish the cooking in time for the guests to arrive so Clare offered her help. Cece was hesitant but Clare was adamant. And it didn't hurt that she loved to cook.

Once they arrived home they quickly went into the kitchen and Cece got Clare started on making pasta while Cece was working on vegetables, waiting for the oven to pre-heat. They had put on some Christmas music and enjoyed the fun atmosphere of it all.

"Oh, we should probably get ready soon," Cece said. Clare looked at the clock and it read "5:13". "You can get ready first and then I'll go."

Clare started upstairs to her room but realized there were family pictures on the wall of the stairs. She smiled seeing Bullfrog and Cece's wedding pictures and giggled when a diapered Eli was chewing on some toy.

"I knew you'd look at them eventually."

Clare nearly tripped over the step when she heard Eli's voice. Thankfully she kept her footing. "Yeah," Clare laughed, still trying to control her heart beat. "They're really cute."

"This one's my favorite," Eli pointed. He went to the lower step beside Clare and gestured to a family picture. "I was nine and it was my first school play. Played the lead too. Cece was so proud."

"What about Bullfrog?"

"He was impressed but he still laughs to this day about my costume. I played a prince…wore tights."

Clare covered her mouth to suppress her laughter but Eli's hand took her wrist and took it from her face. "You can laugh," he said. "Plus I like hearing your laugh."

With Eli being on the step under her, Clare had a bit of an advantage on Eli height-wise. He was looking up at her, a sparkle in his eye evident, and Clare gulped. Eli took his hand from her wrist and she moved her hand to a dirty spot on Eli's neck. She ran her fingers over it and she could've swore she felt him shiver under her touch.

"Why are you all dirty?" Clare asked curiously, wiping away some of the dirt.

"I was in the attic, Bullfrog asked me to clean it up a bit," Eli told her. "How was shopping?"

"Really fun," Clare answered with a smile. "I got a few presents and a new dress for tonight and tomorrow."

"You didn't have to get new clothes just for the occasion."

"I wanted to. Plus Cece picked them out for me and I really liked them."

Eli raised a brow. "Cece was actually successful in picking out clothes for you?"

Clare rolled her eyes playfully. "Yes. She's really great, you know. You're really lucky."

"I know," Eli replied sincerely. "So…did you get a present for me?"

"Thought you didn't celebrate Christmas…" Clare said, slightly teasing.

"I don't," Eli shrugged. "But I do have something for Cece and Bullfrog and Annie and Jordan and you."

Surprised, Clare leaned back a bit. _Me? Why me?_"Me?" she asked with a dry mouth.

"Yeah you," Eli scoffed. "Did you actually think that I would invite you to my family for Christmas without actually giving you something for Christmas? What kind of guy do you think I am?"

"Uh…I would think that letting me stay here with a good enough gift," she replied nervously. _Why are you so nervous Clare? It's not like you didn't get him a gift. Heck, you got him one before you were even friends. Thank God you packed it._

"I think you'll like it," Eli assured her, leaning up to her face slightly.

Their faces were so close. It was like a few nights ago when they were at Eli's bedroom door. Clare's heart was pounding in her chest and it wasn't even that they were leaning in to kiss. They were just so close. _You sat in his lap last night but just standing in front of him makes you weak in the knees? What's going on with you Clare?_

"Uh…we should get ready," Eli stepped down a step. "Relatives coming really soon."

"R-Right," Clare stuttered breathlessly. "I'll…I'll go now."

She quickly went into her room. While talking to Eli she felt something that she'd never really felt before. It was like butterflies in her stomach times 10. She was so nervous and her palms were getting sweaty. Just one look from him and Clare was ready to pass out.

But there was still Jake. She had feelings for Jake, no denying that at all, but the spark that was there with Eli wasn't there with Jake. Clare could admit that to herself, since it was the truth.

After getting dressed in a red and green floral dress, putting on some different jewelry, and putting her hair up, Clare looked at her cell phone. She had to call Jake. He had a right to know where she was. She had to take whatever Jake was going to say to her about it. So she dialed his number and waited.

"Clare! Hey, how are you?"

Jake was so excited to talk to her. _Oh great._

"I'm good Jake, I'm great. How are you? How's New York?"

"You know, busy, loud, pretty awesome," he answered. "We haven't talked in a few days. What have you been doing?"

"Uh…" _Just do it, Clare. Just do it. He'll understand. He loves you, he'll understand_. "Actually I'm not home for Christmas."

There was bit of a silence on the other line. "You're not home?" Jake finally said. He sounded very confused. "Why? Did something happen with your parents?"

"Yes actually," Clare continued nervously. "Something happened with my mom so I kind of…left."

"Where are you now?" Jake demanded to know. Clare was now more scared. "Clare. Tell me where you are. You're safe right?"

"Yes, yes, I'm safe. I'm…at a friend's."

"Which friend? Do I know her? Alli's?"

Clare bit her lip. "Actually…you've seen _him_ before…"

"_Him?_ You're at a guy's place for Christmas? Another guy's place? Who?"

_Oh God, he's so angry_. "Remember when we saw each other at the ice skating rink? Yeah, I'm staying with the guy that was with me."

"Dark hair? Short? Eyeliner? You're staying with _that_ guy?"

"Yes."

Jake was silent for a little while. Clare knew he was probably trying to control his anger. His parents didn't like his bursts of anger and he was probably around them right now. "You could've come here, Clare. We could've spent Christmas together."

"I'm pretty sure finding a flight to New York City would've been impossible Jake," Clare reasoned with him. "It's the holiday season. flights are booked, I—"

"It didn't cross your mind, did it?"

_It didn't_. "No, but—"

"You were with him. You were with him when you left your place," Jake accused.

"I was but—"

"I can't believe this. I can't believe you thought that it was okay that you went to another guy's house for Christmas. How long have you known him?"

_A week or so?_ "Not that long but—"

"You know what Clare? Do what you want. You obviously don't care about what I thought if it took you this long to tell me. Have a good Christmas. _Maybe_ we'll talk after." Clare's phone beeped, signaling that the call had ended, and she had to fight her tears.

She didn't want to lie to Jake. She didn't want to hurt him. But she knew she was in the wrong. When you have a boyfriend, you don't usually go to another guy's house for a holiday. And if you do, you call them right away. Jake was right to be mad. He was so right to be mad. They were on a break now, especially since Jake said maybe they'd talk. Or maybe they were broken up for good. All she knew now was that Jake wasn't her boyfriend anymore since he didn't want her to be his girlfriend.

"Clare? My mom says she needs to get dressed and needs you to watch the food."

Clare wiped her eyes carefully, trying not to smudge her makeup. She took a deep breath before opening the door. Eli was standing with his back against the wall on the other side of the hall and his face dropped, noticing Clare's expression. Clare tried to smile but she knew she must've not been very convincing.

"What's wrong?" Eli asked in concern.

"Nothing," Clare said trying to smile again. "I'm going downstairs."

"No, wait." Eli took her arm and pulled her back gently. "What happened?"

"You didn't hear?"

Eli shook his head, his expression confused. "No, I didn't. Was I supposed to?"

"No," Clare said quickly. Then she sighed. "I called Jake and told him where I was. He's not happy."

"Oh." Eli released Clare's wrist and she brought it back to herself, hugging her torso. She wasn't happy with herself at all.

"I'm sorry," Eli said unsurely. "I'm sorry that you're upset but you can't really blame the guy for being angry."

"I know," Clare said angrily. "I know, I'm angry at myself for being stupid."

"Well you weren't being stupid, you did what you had to, but can't blame a guy for being angry that his girlfriend is at another guy's for Christmas. The circumstances aren't favorable for either of you."

Clare looked at Eli annoyed. "Not really in the mood for your…big vocab."

"Hardly big vocabulary but okay," Eli laughed. "Come on, let's go downstairs."

By 6 o'clock, the doorbell rang and Eli went to answer the door. They had spent the past half hour in the kitchen, Clare making sure nothing would burn, and Eli drinking half a bottle of sparkling cider. Clare was putting food into casserole dishes when she heard a lot of chatter. She took a deep breath and prepared herself to meet Eli's family.

_Meeting Eli's family. That's what you do when you're dating someone._

"So we hear you brought a girl?" Clare heard from the hallway. She heard Eli mumbling about her not being his girlfriend and she laughed to herself. While she put a pan back on the stove, she could sense people walking into the kitchen.

"Grandma, this is Clare."

Clare turned around and saw a small woman who had Bullfrog's face. She was so cute and so petite and Clare could not help but smile. "Hi, nice to meet you," Clare introduced herself and awkwardly held out her hand but Eli's grandma engulfed her in a big hug.

"Never seen a girl your age with such beautiful hair, beautiful eyes, and such modest style," Eli's grandma said and Clare blushed. "I'm Grandma Rose. My husband is somewhere over there, he'll be very happy to meet you."

Clare just continued to smile and when Grandma Rose walked away, Clare looked at Eli. He gave her a reassuring smile and walked over to her. "My grandpa can be a little much so just smile and answer his questions," he whispered into her ear. She nodded and realized that he had put his hand on her back comfortingly. She looked up at him, about to say something, when he heard a booming voice.

"Where's this Clare?"

Clare moved closer to Eli by instinct and felt his hand wrap around her waist. A tall, burly man, definitely related to Eli came walking in. He was pretty much an older version of Bullfrog but seemed a lot more intimidating.

"Nice to meet you sir, I'm Clare," she introduced herself once Eli's grandpa stood in front of her.

"Beautiful, polite, why aren't you dating my grandson?"

Clare froze, an awkward smile on her face, and she just laughed embarrassed. "We're just good friends."

"Like hell you are, what's with the arm there boy?"

Eli's arm pulled away from Clare's waist as if he were burned and she stepped away a bit. "Just…trying to make her comfortable," Eli answered and Clare looked at him with an amused face. "What? That's all I could come up with."

"Well it's great to meet you Clare, I'm Grandpa Thomas, and I hope you're okay with hearing about embarrassing stories of Elijah's past since you're here, we have to make sure we embarrass this little brat even more than usual!"

Clare laughed genuinely, already feeling welcomed by Grandpa Thomas. Eli was very red but she put a hand on his arm comfortingly. "I'll tell you stories about me too, just not in front of your family," she told him.

"Good," Eli muttered to her. "And I thought you'd be the one they target tonight."

"Lovebirds! Join us in the living room!"

Clare turned red again and stuttered as she said to Eli, "Uh..the food, I should keep an eye on it."

"Right," Eli said. "I'll…go calm them down and you can come in whenever."

Clare turned back to the food simmering on the stove and continued to put the finished ones into dishes. Minutes later, Cece walked in in a festive red shirt and black pants, her hair up also.

"Wow, you look great," Clare told her with an honest smile.

"Thank you sweetie," Cece replied. "I hope you don't mind, I kind of stole your hairstyle."

"It works on you," Clare said. She earned a big hug from Cece and then they continued to prepare the food and put them at the kitchen table, placing them buffet style and with a small heater underneath each dish. Once they had finished, Cece told Clare to go into the living room and enjoy a few minutes of relaxation while she cleaned up in the kitchen.

Clare hesitantly walked into the living room and saw Eli sitting at a stool at a corner of the room, listening to his family chattering around him. She tried to discreetly walk over to him but a middle aged woman got in her way. She looked very happy to see her though.

"Eli's friend right?" she asked her and Clare sighed in relief.

"Yes," she replied politely. "I'm Clare."

"Nice to have you here Clare, I'm Eli's Aunt Liz. Cece's sister. I'm also Eli's favorite aunt because when he was five, he spent months at my house and I gave him baths."

Clare pressed her lips together and tried not to laugh as Eli walked over to them and said, "Okay Aunt Liz, embarrassing me from the get go?"

"Well I just want Clare here to feel welcome," Aunt Liz said while putting a hand on Clare's arm.

Clare smiled to her as she walked away and she gave Eli an amused look. Eli narrowed his eyes. "Okay, okay, no comments from me," Clare said to him. "Not right now anyways."

"I expect some really embarrassing stories okay?" Eli whispered.

"I'll see what I can come with," she joked and she and Eli took a seat at the stools where Eli was before.

Eventually everyone started dinner, piling food onto their plastic plates, and since the dining table was taken up with the food, everyone had to find their own seats. Eli and Clare managed to stay at the stools and eat their food together, listening to the stories of Eli's family.

Bullfrog loved telling stories of his work. Uncle Zach liked telling everyone the latest gossip of the building. Clare noticed that he avoided saying anything about her family and he was very grateful for that. He smiled at her earlier in the night, as if telling her that he wouldn't say anything.

Clare wasn't kept out of the conversation for long though. Eli's grandpa turned to her and Clare got a little nervous. "So you two," he said, directing it towards her and Eli. "How'd you become friends?"

She looked at Eli, wondering if she should tell the truth. But if she did she'd have to talk about living at the Castellani and Uncle Zach would get questions as to why he didn't talk about her family.

"By my old job," Eli answered. "Clare came home from university and passed by, we met, and we just hit it off."

"Ah," Thomas said but he wasn't pleased yet. "University?"

"Toronto," Clare answered. "It's not that far away but I stay there for the entire school year and only come back for holidays or birthdays."

"What're you studying?"

"I'm majoring in English," Clare told. "I've actually had a few fiction stories published in various magazines."

"You never told me that," Eli cut in. "You need to let me read some."

"I will."

"You know, Elijah has been published in Gothic Tales," Cece said proudly. Clare's mouth opened slightly in amazement.

"I _loved_ Gothic Tales!" she beamed and turned to Eli. "Why didn't _you_ tell me about this?"

Eli merely shrugged. "Didn't really come up."

"Do you have a copy? Can I read it? Please?"

"Wow, you're eager," he laughed. "I'm sure there's one in my room, I'll find it for you later."

Once Clare finally turned away from Eli, she noticed everyone in the family looking over at them. They were either curious or smirking in amusement. She suddenly felt very on the spot and just looked down to her plate, trying to get her red cheeks to cool off.

"So Aunt Quinn, how did Annie and Jordan's school play go?"

Eli asked this and suddenly everyone listened to Quinn's story and Clare whispered to Eli, "Thank you."

She was leaning closer to him to say this discreetly and Eli leaned in dangerously closer, "You're welcome."

An hour later, everyone was still in the living room but with no more plates in their laps. Everyone was full and resting. Clare and Eli were now sitting at the bench on the windowsill of the living room, laughing and smiling at all of the stories.

Clare was glad to be around such a big family. The last time she had a big family Christmas with her own was years ago. Once they actually moved to the Castellani, she saw less of her extended family.

But Eli's was so wonderful and loud and friendly. Clare couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so much.

"Hey! Eli and Clare are under the mistletoe!"

Clare pushed her eyebrows together at little Annie's comment and looked up. There it was. A mistletoe.

"Uh…" Eli and Clare said at the same time and looked at each other awkwardly.

"Well I don't celebrate Christmas so…" Eli said shrugging.

"Then Clare, you have to kiss him."

_Thanks Grandma Rose._ "I don't know…" Clare trailed off. "It's not—"

"It's only a Christmas kiss," someone else added in.

"Clare has a—" Eli started but Clare discreetly hit his hand and shook her head. Eli raised a brow asking and she nodded again. "She doesn't just go kissing random people."

"But you're not random," Bullfrog pointed out. "Come on. It's the holidays!"

Clare looked back at Eli and saw that he had been looking at her longer. His eyes were soft, as was his expression. She couldn't tell what that look on his face was. Was it one of embarrassment or did he want to kiss her?

Eli's hand reached out to tuck back one of the stray curls that come out of her updo and she felt him pulling her closer. "You don't have to kiss me if you don't want to," Eli whispered so silently that she could barely hear it herself. He was leaning in closer and right before Eli's lips touched hers, she whispered back.

"I want to."

Clare leaned in the rest of the way and kissed him. And her heart soared.

Their lips moved together a few seconds before they pulled away at the same time, their lips still brushing each others. Eli kept his hand around Clare's ear and she could feel it burning in his hand. Their eyes connected and finally, Clare let out the breath she'd been holding and smiled.

Eli was the first to sit back and Clare could feel her ear tingling from Eli's touch. Her lips were the ones on fire now. She was mesmerized.

"Now that wasn't bad now was it?" Bullfrog teased, a smirk prominent on his lips. "Anyone want some dessert?"

Some stood up and followed Bullfrog to the dining room and Clare turned her head to Eli again and he was smirking at her.

"Didn't realize our first kiss would be in front of my family," he laughed.

"So you've thought about…our first kiss," Clare stated awkwardly.

Eli sighed. "Everyday since I first saw you, if we're being honest."

"What about our…second kiss?"

Clare felt a little more confident and wanted to take a risk. And here was Eli, someone who made her feel comfortable, caused her to speak her mind, and _he_ wanted _her._ And now that she and Jake were technically not together, nothing was going to stop her anymore.

"You tell me," Eli retorted smiling and he pressed his lips to hers again.

She smiled against his lips and wrapped her hand around his neck and sat closer to him. As Eli's arms went around her waist, she melted.

_Merry Christmas to me_.


	10. Minutes to Midnight

**Sorry it took a while to update. Massive writer's block and a crazy Degrassi week. If you're a Cake fan after this week, I have a new one-shot up. If you're not a Cake fan then you'll really love this chapter. Tried to make it as fluffy as possible for those feeling Eclare deprived. I miss Eclare but I'm okay with Cake. Eclare is endgame and the best romances have the best buildup to endgame, right? I just made that up but…you see my point.**

**Thank you so much for your reviews of the last chapter. Glad you all liked how their first kiss happened. :3**

**Christmas in August! I just really like Christmas! ;) (10 points who knows who said that)**

**Please review! Thanks for reading!**

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><p>They didn't stop kissing until they heard a crash from the dining room, followed by concerned screams. Eli and Clare pulled apart, both their faces flushed, then he grabbed her hand and together they walked to the dining room and found two of the youngest family members, one being Jordan and the other Eli's cousin Luke, both on the ground surrounded by broken glass. Eli realized it was one of his mom's oldest vases that fell and knew that Cece must be upset.<p>

"Should we go to the hospital?"

"The snow is terrible!"

"But do we have a choice?"

"Bullfrog, do you guys have any bandages or that kind of stuff?"

"I do."

The frantic questions and movements to clean up the mess all stopped when Clare spoke. Eli looked at her curiously and tightened his grip on her hand.

"I have a first aid kit in my suitcase," she clarified. "I brought it home from college and it's still there. Should I get it?"

"Can you clean them up?"

"Well I can make sure they don't get infected but I can't stitch them up or anything," she said. Before anyone could say anything, she was already on her way upstairs. Eli watched her as she swiftly walked up them and he couldn't wipe off that grin on his face. But then he felt someone hit him on the back and he winced.

"That was some kiss my friend," Uncle Zach commented, his hand still on the spot on Eli's back where he felt his skin throbbing. "Thought you said you didn't like her."

Eli had to scoff. "I was obviously lying."

"She looks like a keeper, especially since she seems to know her way around a first aid kit so I won't oppose to you bringing her around more often."

"I don't oppose that either," he smirked. Clare came back with the first aid kit in hand and she had Jordan and Luke be moved into comfortable spots in the living room and she quickly went on to clean up the blood from Jordan's legs and Luke's hands primarily. It seemed that everyone was in awe of Clare using things they'd only seen on medical shows that they remained quiet and watched the show in progress.

Eli leaned against the doorway of the dining room and just had to smile. Nurse Clare. Saint Clare. Clare Edwards. Clare Goldsworthy.

He shook his head at his stupidity, testing out his last name with Clare, but he certainly didn't think that that was so bad. It had its ring to it. But it was stupid of him to be thinking that when this was the first time they ever really got to spend time with each other. Sure he was in love with her but she just had a fight with her boyfriend and he kissed her. But it was so magical and wonderful and perfect that he could not get himself to regret it.

"I got most of the glass that I saw out but there's a few deep cuts on Jordan's legs and there's a big one on Luke's right hand so it's best if you get them to the hospital to get stitches," Clare reported as she wiped off some more blood from Jordan's legs. Jordan whimpered at the word stitches and Clare stopped and said to her, "It won't hurt at all, I promise."

Jordan smiled and muttered a sweet "thank you" and soon some of the men were off with Jordan and Luke to the hospital. Eli followed Clare into one of the bathrooms sneakily and as Clare was washing her hands thoroughly, Eli walked up behind her and held her hips.

"Washing my bloody hands Eli," Clare giggled. Eli smirked as his hands started moving upward, tickling her. She squirmed in his arms until Eli felt cold water splashing his face. Then all of a sudden, his hair was damp as was his shirt and all he could hear was Clare's laughter.

"Funny," Eli scrunched his face as the hot water dripped down his face and back and when he finally opened his eyes, he saw Clare looking up at him, the most innocent smile on her face. The faucet was off now and they could hear the faint footsteps and voices of the rest of Eli's family outside.

"Any reason why you felt the need to…clean my hair?" he asked as he reached for a towel.

"Here, let me help with that." Clare started to towel dry his hair, her arms slightly on his shoulders. Eli saw that Clare was struggling on her tiptoes so he kept her steady by the use of his hands on her hips. The towel was pulled away and Eli shook out his hair.

"Ew," Clare complained, wiping her face.

"It's just water," Eli said softly, leaning down and pressed his forehead against hers. He breathed in deeply, cherishing this intimate moment, closing his eyes. "I really like you."

He felt a hand touching the side of his face and he leaned into the warmth. "I really like you too," she whispered. They shared a soft, chaste kiss and Eli opened his eyes to see Clare eyeing him curiously, eyes drifting from his eyes to his lips, and all of a sudden he was pushed back into a wall and Clare was just going to town on his mouth. But a crazy person wouldn't respond and he was certainly not crazy. He kissed back with equal enthusiasm, fighting for dominance and clearly winning. Clare was pressed up against him so close and he was so amazed that he was finally having a moment that he'd dreamt of. Kissing Clare Edwards so intimately. He hadn't imagined it'd be in a bathroom but it was happening and he was in heaven.

"Clare, are you in there?"

They pulled away from each other and Clare stepped back, adjusting her shirt and hair and cracked open the door. Eli was hidden behind the door and he was smirking to himself as he adjusted his own shirt.

"Have you seen Eli?"

Clare stuttered, "I- I haven't, I—"

Eli decided to open the door further, revealing his appearance in the bathroom, and he was met with a shocked Cece. The shocked face turned to an amused one.

"There's coffee and cookies if you guys would like some but…I see that you two are already enjoying your own kind of dessert," Cece commented, the sarcasm and teasing oozing from her tone. She winked and walked away and Clare was starting to make a quick exit from the bathroom but Eli pulled her back, pressing her up against the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" he huskily asked, pressing kisses all over Clare's cheek.

"Out so your family doesn't think I'm…we're…"

"Clare, I'm pretty sure they already thought that the moment you walked into the living room."

Clare's jaw dropped and Eli was quick to laugh. "I kept telling them that we weren't together but I'm pretty sure they weren't convinced because I kept staring at you every chance I got."

"I'm not very observant then."

Eli tucked a curl behind Clare's ear, just like he did right before their first kiss under the mistletoe, and he kissed her chastely. "You were listening to my family, seemed very hooked on what they were saying, and you didn't notice that I was only looking at you. Cece and Bullfrog kept catching me but…I didn't care."

"I still can't believe that…I'm here with you," Clare confessed, her hands tickling the back of Eli's neck.

"In a bathroom? Never thought so either."

Clare rolled her eyes and Eli admired her piercing blue eyes, loving the fact that he was able to see them so close now. "I meant…being here with you at Christmas, meeting and loving your family, and being able to kiss you whenever I wanted."

Eli pulled back slightly and sighed. "What about Jake?"

"He's…angry and he said _maybe_ we'll talk after. He's pissed. I don't think that he'll forgive me anytime soon," Clare replied. Eli was surprised to see that Clare wasn't very sad about it either. She was still smiling a bit and he hugged her closer.

"You said something about loving my family," he said grinning.

"I do," she happily said. "They're all so great and I love being around such a loving family atmosphere. It's…been a while. I miss it."

"I guess we should continue to enjoy it then." Eli grabbed her hand and they walked into the dining room together. The glass was gone from the floor and the ladies of the family were all chatting and drinking coffee. Eli made himself and Clare a cup and they both walked back into the dining room.

"I don't think we'll be leaving tonight," one of Eli's aunts were saying. "With Luke and Jordan in the hospital, it'd just be easier to stay."

"Well…our guest room is taken," Cece said unsurely, looking at Clare. "But the living room has a pullout bed, so—"

"I'll take the living room," Clare offered. "I don't mind."

"No, Clare, that's perfectly okay," Aunt Liz assured her.

"No, it's really fine, I'll—"

"She'll sleep in my room, I'll take the couch," Eli piped up. "The guest room has a bigger bed anyways so Aunt Liz, you guys can take that one, Clare will sleep in my room."

"I can't ask you to," Clare said sheepishly.

"I wasn't asking you too, I was offering."

"Maybe Eli could sleep on the floor of his room," Cece recommended. "I think that Zach and Quinn will be staying as well."

"Uh…that's fine," Clare stuttered, laughing nervously. "Eli?"

Eli was only thinking of the fact that he'd be sleeping in the same room as Clare. He'd stay on the floor and all but she would be there only a few feet away. He was afraid he might do something stupid, like snore or have _those_ kinds of dreams but he didn't want to pass up an opportunity to be with Clare.

He nodded his head and he could tell that Clare seemed a little hesitant. Would this just make things too awkward between them?

It was around 11 o'clock when Bullfrog came back with Jordan and Luke all stitched up and Cece was getting everyone settled in where they would be staying. Eli helped Clare bring her things from the guest room to his room. While Clare was in the bathroom, Eli took the time to clean up his room a bit, set up some blankets and pillows for himself on the ground, and find something for her. She came back wearing Christmas pajama pants and a loose white v-neck and Eli fought the urge to stare. After Eli took his own time in the bathroom, he came back into the room and saw Clare sitting in bed reading. He tried not to disturb her but eventually she put her book away.

"I found something for you," Eli said.

"Did you?" Clare asked.

Eli grabbed his old copy of Gothic Tales that he brought out from one of his drawers and sat down next to Clare on the bed. He handed it to her and she gasped.

"I had this copy!" she exclaimed. "You wrote Stalker Angel? It was my favorite story out of all of the copies I had!"

"I did," Eli smiled. "It was really great to see it published. Took a long time to write it."

Clare flipped to the page and started reading and Eli leaned back on the bed, keeping his hands over his stomach, and watched as Clare's lips were moving softly as she read. Eventually he got bored and pulled her over to him, having her lean against the headboard also, and Clare read as she leaned on him. Eli got the chance to read over it at well.

"…_and forever…they are one,_" Clare read out loud and closed the magazine. "I have to be honest, it shocked me when he slit her throat and drank her blood but…in a weird way, I understood. My friend was really grossed out by it but I explained it to her."

"Did you really?" Eli asked curiously. He was surprised that she understood. No one usually did, other than those he explained it to.

"Malcolm felt Rachel slipping away," Clare started. "Rachel becomes too enticed with another and Malcolm couldn't see any other way to…save Rachel from herself, I guess. So, to keep them together, Malcolm has Rachel in him forever. I guess I found the romance of it to triumph over the…strange."

"I can't believe you got it," Eli said in disbelief. "That's exactly what I tell people when I explain."

"Did you…was this inspired by anything? I don't mean that you slit someone's throat, I mean, you couldn't stop someone from slipping away?"

Eli gulped, not ready to tell Clare about his past. He got nervous now, Clare asking about what happened, and having her in his arms. It was all too realistic now. He slowly got off the bed, set aside his copy of Gothic Tales, and laid down on his makeshift bed.

"I'm sorry if I said something wrong," Clare said from the bed. Eli saw her leaning her head from the bed with a sad expression on her face. "I didn't mean to."

"You didn't," Eli sighed, trying to give her a reassuring smile. "I'm just not ready to go back that far."

Clare nodded and her head was no longer in view to Eli. He saw the light turn off as Clare turned off the lamp and suddenly they were in darkness. Eli breathed deeply and turned to his opposite side, not facing Clare. It was weird how suddenly he felt awkward around her, now that she knew that there must've been something in his past that would make him write a horror yet romance story. As much as he wanted to let her in, have her know everything, it was difficult.

He was on the verge of sleep when he heard her voice.

"I sang a hymn at lunch once."

Eli turned his body slowly and saw Clare laying at the edge of the bed. She was under the covers, her hands peeking through supporting her head.

"What?" Eli said groggily.

"I told you I'd tell you some embarrassing stories about me," she replied. "This guy…he told me I care too much what people thought and dared me to do it so I did."

Eli suppressed his laughter. "So what happened?"

"People threw food at me," Clare admitted with slight laughing. "But no one got hurt so."

"Thank you for sharing," Eli said sincerely. "You know I was just kidding when I said that you owed me some stories."

"Well…I wanted you to see that you're not the only one with some cringe-worthy things from their past. Uh…just got a thought about something else that was embarrassing but I probably shouldn't share," she said.

"Next time maybe," Eli said reassuringly. "I…I'll tell you eventually." Eli was hoping she'd know what he meant.

"Where's your hand?" she asked him and blindly and confusedly, he held it out closer to the bed. He felt her fingers go between his and he smiled at the feeling. He pushed himself closer and he kissed the back of her hand gently.

"Goodnight Clare," he whispered against her skin.

He waited for a reply and thought she'd fallen asleep. He let his head rest against the pillow again and tried to fall asleep once again until she heard her voice once again.

"It's midnight now…and I know you don't celebrate Christmas but…I'm glad that I get to be with you. Goodnight Eli."

Eli couldn't resist the urge to lean up and kiss her surprisingly, unable to keep it chaste. Her hands tangled up in his hair and Eli had to grip the mattress hard so he could keep his hands at an acceptable place.

"When you start tugging at my hair, it's really hard to stay a gentleman," Eli said against her lips. He felt her chuckle. Her hands pushed him away roughly but also gently, back onto the ground. Her body was leaning over the bed.

"Then we'll pick this up in the morning," she teased. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Clare," Eli replied with a smile. He searched for her hand again, hoping she held it out from the bed, and was happy to feel that she was. Their hands were clenched together at an awkward position in the air so Eli put a pillow underneath their attached hands, now feeling more comfortable.

Eli focused on Clare's deep breathing, knowing now that she'd fallen asleep, and now he could fall asleep happy knowing that Clare was there, holding his hand, and with the grip she had on it, it seemed that she wouldn't let go.


	11. Christmas Gift

**Completely neglected the favorite review for chapter 9 so here are my favorite reviews for the last two chapters!**

**Chapter 9-**

**inahotminute: Really love that you picked your favorite line and your commentary on it! Thanks so much! I loved that line too. :D**

**Chapter 10-**

**totallybodacious: Glad you like the addition of Stalker Angel!**

**Thank you guys soooo soo much for the reviews, they really make my day, seriously. I'm glad you guys are enjoying this story!**

**This chapter is quite fluffy, maybe so you guys can be happy before the drama comes along. If you've read my stories before, you know I love my drama. :P**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

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><p>Eli could've been dreaming but he felt extremely content having Clare in his arms. She was snuggled into his chest as she slept and he smiled to himself, laying his chin over her head. But this beautiful moment was over when Eli's eyes fluttered open and he realized he was on the floor.<p>

He started to move until he realized that his hand was attached to another. The sight of his hand still tangled with Clare's made him smile. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand and he received no movement so he knew she was still asleep. He didn't want to let go of her hand but he also wanted to surprise her before she woke up. So carefully and slowly he let go or her hand and exited his room. He managed to brew some coffee for himself and Clare, making it the way she liked after observing how Cece made it the previous morning, and went into his room again.

Clare was still asleep, her extended hand now under her cheek. He put aside the coffee, opened his beside drawer and took out a box, and knelt beside his bed. Eli didn't want to interrupt Clare sleeping, simply because she looked so angelic as she slept, but he wanted to surprise her. It was Christmas morning and he knew it was difficult for her to be away from her family, so he wanted to make the experience as homely as possible.

"Clare," he whispered as he touched the side of her face. "Clare, wake up."

Clare moved slightly and muttered something under her breath but she didn't wake up. "Clare," Eli said more strongly, now his hand on her arm. He started to shake her and she groaned.

"Go away," she whined and tilted her head the opposite direction.

Eli laughed slightly and sat at the small amount of space between the edge of the bed and Clare's body. He didn't want to do it…well, he did but he'd feel extremely guilty. But he knew Clare was ticklish and she was refusing to get up.

He poked at her sides where he knew she was sensitive and she jumped up, her a mess, and a confused expression. Once she realized that Eli was right there, she started to hit his shoulder and he took cover.

"Why…did…you…do…that?" she said between hits. "Not nice!"

"You weren't waking up!" Eli grabbed Clare's wrists, trying to stop the abuse on his shoulder, and ended up pressing her arms back against the bed with himself hovering over her. "Are you calm yet?"

Eli noticed that Clare was breathing heavily, eyeing him as he held himself above her. He felt her arms lose its tension and he took her hands in his. "Yes," she replied with a smile. "Good morning."

"Merry Christmas," he reminded her, grinning back as he leaned down further. Their noses touched and Eli couldn't believe how corny he was being. He wouldn't have done a move so lame as Eskimo kisses with some other girl but he didn't think twice with Clare.

"You don't celebrate Christmas," Clare said, one of her hands going to touch his cheek.

"But you do so…" Eli leaned over and grabbed the small box on his nightstand. "Merry Christmas."

Clare sat up slowly and hesitantly took the box from Eli's hand. "But…you didn't even leave the house or—"

"Clare, when you and my mom went shopping yesterday I told you I was cleaning the attic for Bullfrog. Well, I lied. I was there trying to find something and…I found it," he pushed the box into Clare's hand and she finally took it. She looked up at him with thankful eyes and a sweet smile.

Before Clare opened the box, Eli leaned down and pressed his lips to Clare's surprising her. "It was really last minute," he said once they pulled away. "But you said something during dinner the first night we were here and I thought of this."

Clare kissed Eli again before opening the box and she gasped in surprise when she saw what it was. She carefully brought it out and admired it, her smile growing. "It's so beautiful," she whispered in disbelief.

It was a brooch, one you'd see little old ladies where on their pastel colored jackets. But this one was in the shape of a panda, engraved with little diamonds around it. The panda was smiling as well. It was truly the epitome of cute and lame and antique.

"Bullfrog showed this to me once when I was younger," Eli started to explain. He wrapped his hand around Clare's and turned the brooch. "Said his grandma wore this all the time. She lost it though, when she was in her twenties. Then this little girl found it out of nowhere and returned it to my great grandma when she was in her 70's. Then she gave it to Bullfrog and he kept it in this old jewelry box that also belonged to her. You said panda was your favorite animal so I—"

Before Eli could finish his sentence, Clare attacked him with a kiss, causing him to fall back on his bed. Clare was kissing him with fervor, her body pressing against his, and Eli was having trouble keeping up after getting the wind knocked out of him.

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Clare muttered against his lips. "It truly is."

Eli laughed nervously. "I know you must be used to the fancy jewelry and such so…"

Clare sat up and her face dropped. "Is that how you think of me? Some rich girl who only wants the finer things in life?"

"No!" Eli said quickly, sitting back up. "No, no, no. It's just that…after being in your home and seeing everything you have, you can't blame me for thinking that. I know you're not some snobby rich girl."

Eli caressed the side of Clare's face and brought their foreheads to touch. "I like you because you managed to catch my attention just by walking by me. I like you because you always said hi and smiled to everyone who walked past you. I like you because you have a beautiful heart and an intelligent mind and dreams to work towards. I like _you_ for you, Clare. I liked you the first moment I saw you and meeting you officially made me so happy. And now that I'm actually here with you, I can't ask for anything more."

Clare took hold of the back of Eli's head and tilted his head away and she started kissing down his neck. Eli froze a little and his eyes fluttered closed as Clare's soft lips caressed his skin. "What are you doing?" he asked breathily. His hands gripped Clare's waist and it took all his self control for his hands to stay.

"You think you can say all that stuff and have me not react this way?" Clare teased, whispering into his ear. "You're amazing."

"I agree but," Eli joked and pushed Clare back gently. "We don't want to have things get out of hand, do we?"

"Right," Clare sighed. She sat away from him a bit and took a closer look at her new brooch. "It really is beautiful. I can't believe you're giving me something so special to your family."

Eli shrugged. "Bullfrog said I could take it if I even had the desire to give it to someone so here I am. Plus I haven't heard many girls admit that their favorite animal is a panda."

"Thank you," Clare replied sincerely. "Really, I'm so…overwhelmed. Christmas with you has already been better than my past five Christmases."

Eli wanted to ask for details but Clare got off the bed and went to her suitcase. Eli laid back down and watched as she scrambled through her things and came back to bed with a long, thin box wrapped in a festive paper.

"With you not actually celebrating Christmas, it'd be inappropriate for me to greet you as such so I guess I'll say…thank you for letting me stay here and being there for me," Clare told him and sat beside him as he unwrapped the box.

Eli opened the velvet box to see a guitar pick silver chain necklace. He wasn't one for jewelry but this was special. He flipped the pick between his fingers and noticed some writing on one side.

"What a minute…" he said slowly and read it carefully. "That's the signature of the lead singer of Dead Hand!"

"It is," Clare smiled. "I went into this music store and they had this…I asked if that signature was real and yes it is. I have the certificate of authentification at home, sorry I forgot to bring it."

"Clare," Eli said before kissing her. "I…I'm so…this is…"

"I know," she finished for him. "I'm glad you like it. I bought it the morning after we spent the afternoon together, before I—"

"Saw me and Natasha?" Eli brought up awkwardly.

"Yeah," Clare nodded. "And when you quit your job, I had no idea how I would give it to you. I'm glad this is how."

"Me too," Eli replied. They looked at each other for a minute or two, just smiling and blushing, until Eli set aside both their gifts and had Clare lay down beside him on the bed. "How about we spend a few minutes of silence like this before all craziness breaks lose downstairs once everyone's awake?"

"Sounds perfect," Clare grinned and pulled him over for a kiss.

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><p>Gift opening turned into a mess…and that included the adults. Everyone was crowded in the living room, on the couches and the floor, and wrapping paper was everywhere and everyone was practically screaming from excitement.<p>

Clare stood at the large doorway to the dining room, smiling at Bullfrog's expressions as he opened his presents most of which were music related. His voice would boom over everyone else's and Clare found that rather adorable. Cece, on the other hand, was more quiet with her happiness, just covering her mouth as she smiled. Clare had gotten Bullfrog a collectors' edition of a Beatles album, along with a small figurine of a bullfrog just to be funny. Cece got a necklace she was eyeing in a jewelry store during their shopping excursion. Clare had discreetly gotten a worker to wrap it up for her while Cece got food. Annie and Jordan both got decorative jewelry boxes, which contained a necklace for each of them. After Annie and Jordan opened their presents, they went up to give Clare a big hug which she returned.

"What are you doing standing here?" Eli asked as he approached her from behind and sipped on his coffee.

"Didn't want to disrupt the gift opening," Clare replied. "Is it always like this?"

"Oh yeah," Eli laughed. "Even when I was the only kid around. The adults are crazy, I swear."

"TIES!" someone exclaimed happily, holding up a new pack of ties.

"See what I mean?" Eli pointed. "Everyone's a kid again, it's pretty awesome."

"You don't open your presents with them?" Clare asked.

"I don't get presents, other than something maybe from Cece, but I told them that I don't want presents," he shrugged. "That's fine with me."

"But—"

"Clare!" She turned her head and smiled when Cece stood in front of her. But then she noticed a large box in Cece's hands.

"No, you—" Clare started but Cece cut her off.

"We seem to have noticed each other's actions when we shopped yesterday," Cece chuckled. "And I can't have a guest over at Christmas without giving them a little something for the holiday, can I? Merry Christmas, dear. You've made so many of us happy."

Clare took the gift gratefully and hugged Cece tightly. Once Cece walked away, Clare started to unwrap the gift slowly. "Clare, you're acting like you're not excited to open it," Eli teased.

Clare rolled her eyes and ripped the rest of the paper and opened the box. "It's the jacket I tried on…" Clare was mesmerized. "I was gonna buy it but I didn't want the trip to be a shopping trip for me. I didn't even realize Cece saw me try it on."

"It's nice," Eli commented plainly and Clare playfully rolled his eyes. "I don't know what to say, I'm a guy. Everything looks good on you."

Clare ran her hand over the soft fabric of the jacket. It was a black jacket with simple silver detailing and Clare fell in love with the fit and the style while she admired it in the store. But she knew how selfish she'd feel if she had bought it for herself. She did by dresses for the occasion but Cece had picked it out for her. This was a purchase she wanted to make for herself and having Cece notice it, it made her feel very happy and connected to her.

Eli's cell phone started ringing and Clare watched as Eli got happy. "It's Natasha, I'll be back in a sec." He walked away after picking up the call and saying a very enthusiastic hi and Clare pressed her lips together.

Why was she jealous? Eli said there was nothing going on between them. And he kissed her last night. And this morning. And gave her a family treasure. So there was no need to be jealous.

Right?

Clare couldn't help but try to eavesdrop so she stepped further into the dining room and pretended to get some more food. Eli was just outside the other doorway to the kitchen and Clare tried to tune out Eli's family to focus on what he was saying.

"No, I do miss you," he was saying. "Everything is great, Nat. Seriously. No. No. But yes, kinda. She left because of something with her family…What did you expect? Make her stay at a hotel during Christmas?...We weren't serious, that's why….Why are you mad? Natasha, you know how I feel about her…..That was a long time ago. Why are you bringing it up? We've been over for a long time….Do you want to know the truth? It's because I never wanted you to meet my entire family, not that soon anyways…Yes, Clare has met them, we're with them now…Do I have to repeat myself? You know how I feel about her."

Clare quickly walked back to the living room so she wouldn't have to hear anymore. It seemed that Natasha was jealous or something about her being with Eli at Christmas. Did Natasha still have feelings for him? Was Eli lying when he said nothing was going on?

_He was sticking up for you, Clare. Don't think about it. He wanted _you_ here, not her_.

But why didn't she feel any better?

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><p>Eli found it such a sweet gesture for Cece to have gotten Clare a present that she wanted when Clare did the same thing. Clare got Cece a necklace, Cece got a jacket for Clare, both who eyed them when they were shopping. Girls. Did they have some sort of shopping telepathy or something?<p>

Eli smiled as Clare admired her new jacket and didn't even notice at first that his phone was ringing. When he saw it was Natasha, he got happy. After excusing himself from Clare, he walked into the kitchen.

"Merry Christmas!" Natasha said happily through the phone. "Wait…nevermind."

Eli laughed. "Back at you. How's the family? Is your mom doing okay?"

"Yeah, as well as she can with it being the first Christmas without dad but it's good. How are you?"

"Great actually," Eli said honestly. "Clare's here."

"What?" Natasha asked, as if she were surprised and angry. "Clare is with you? Here I was, thinking you were missing me."

"No, I do miss you," Eli replied. "Everything is great, Nat. Seriously."

"Did she invite herself?"

"No."

"Did she fight with her boyfriend or something?"

"No," Eli said. "But yes, kinda. She left because of something with her family."

"So the first reaction was to whisk her away and bring her to Cece and Bullfrog?"

Eli rolled his eyes. "What did you expect? Make her stay at a hotel during Christmas?"

"When we dated, you never even thought about bringing me home for Christmas," Natasha angrily replied.

Eli had no idea why she was acting this way. "We weren't serious, that's why."

"Fine, but still!"

"Why are you mad?" Eli asked. "Natasha, you know how I feel about her."

"I recall a time when you felt the same way about me."

"That was a long time ago. Why are you bringing it up? We've been over for a long time!"

"You never even thought to bring me around your family, Eli. Do you know how that makes me feel?"

"Do you want to know the truth?" Eli was starting to get a little aggravated. "It's because I never wanted you to meet my entire family, not that soon anyways."

"Has she met all of them?

"Yes, Clare has met them, we're with them now," Eli replied.

"Eli, you _just _met her! And you're so quick to introduce her to Cece and Bullfrog! You didn't even tell them about us until a month after we started dating!"

Do I have to repeat myself? You know how I feel about her. I'm sorry but she makes me feel like nothing I've ever felt before. It's more than just liking you, you know that, I've told you before. If that bothers you then maybe we should stop talking for a little while."

"Fine," Natasha said shortly and hung up. Eli resisted the urge to groan angrily and not throw his phone against the wall and just grabbed a waffle from the dining table on his way back to the living room.

"Oh God, what did Bullfrog get?" Eli saw Bullfrog dancing around the living room. Not a pretty sight.

"Something for his car," Clare answered. Eli looked at her curiously, noticing the distance of her tone.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. He wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. She didn't pull away but didn't respond. "Clare, what's up?"

"Do you still like her?" Clare looked up at him with worried eyes.

_Oh…she heard_. "No, not even a little bit," Eli said sincerely. "She's only a friend and will only be a friend. I didn't realize she was the jealous type."

"But you _have_ been with her so—"

"Clare," he cupped her face in his hands. "No one even comes close to you. I promise."

Clare nodded, finally smiling, and Eli went to kiss her but she turned her head. "Not in front of your family Eli," she said embarrassed.

"We kissed in front of them yesterday," he laughed as he reminded her.

"Still," she whined.

"Hey!" Eli said to get everyone's attention. Clare turned red but Eli only pulled her closer. "Do you guys mind if I kiss Clare?"

"No!" all said in union.

Eli turned back to Clare. "Well it seems like they've spoken."

"Can't disappoint them, can we?" Clare replied smirking.

Eli started to lean down but stopped right before he kissed her. "You know, I actually did get a present this year, other than the pick necklace."

Clare raised a brow. "Really? What'd you get?"

Eli grabbed a nearby gift bow and placed it on Clare's head. "I got you." And he kissed her again, a smile gracing both of their lips.


	12. Returning

**Parts of this chapter will be eerily similar to something you all know, I'm sure. You'll understand what I mean. :P I had to do it, it's been planned from the start! Sorry for the long wait but thank you for your support and reviews!**

**Pretty sure this will be ending in a couple of chapters!**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

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><p>Eli and Clare were finally on their way back to the city spending the rest of Christmas eating and gift sharing and laughing at the Goldsworthy house. And after a filling breakfast of leftovers and what seemed like <em>hour<em> hugs from Cece and Bullfrog, they were in the car, holding hands on the middle console.

"That was the best Christmas I've had in…years," Clare sighed happily. "After Darcy left, things have never been the same. But then I come here and all of a sudden I forgot about everything. Now we're back to reality. Now I have to go back and face my parents."

Eli's thumb ran across the back of Clare's hand comfortingly. "Did they call you at all to ask where you were?" he asked.

"No," Clare shook her head. "But I'm positive Jake told his parents who then would tell my parents who would probably not call me deliberately so they can save the yelling for when I actually get home."

"How are you taking the news of their divorce?" Eli asked, almost scared to. "I mean, we never even talked about it and I thought you wouldn't want to over Christmas but like you said, we're going back to reality…"

"Honestly, I'm surprised it hadn't happened sooner," Clare answered. "But just the fact that they didn't tell me as if I were too young to know and my mom has moved on so quickly AND moved on to a man so much younger than her who also has a wife and a child! Where did her morals go?"

Eli didn't know how to answer, afraid to say the wrong thing. He didn't know how to react to someone ranting about their parents' divorce. His own parents were the complete opposite. They were always all over each other, no matter who witnessed it. But Eli did the only thing he could think of. He lifted Clare's hand to his lips and kissed it softly and suddenly, Clare's mindless ranting was over. She was smiling now and Eli felt accomplished.

"Thank you for this," Clare said softly, her head falling back to the headrest. "Whenever I'm with you, I feel so much better."

"Hey, I never thought that I'd end up talking to you let alone bringing you over to my parents' house for Christmas and look, it all happened. _That_ is surreal to me and I'm just shocked that my imagination became my reality." Eli felt completely sappy and not manly at all but he didn't care.

When he first saw Clare he could only imagined what she sounded like, joked like, reacted like, and now he knew that and then some. His dreams were sometimes filled with seeing Clare, spending time with her, or kissing her and that was months ago. Now, just days into Clare's winter break, she was unofficially his. She chose him and Eli didn't care that her ex was probably making him his next target. He also didn't care that her parents would probably not like him. He was holding Clare's hand and that was enough.

"My parents are gonna be so mad," Clare said out of nowhere. "I love it."

"You love it? Saint Clare!"

"I'm gonna _hate_ having to go through their pointless lecture but I just love the fact that finally, I did something that pissed them off. Plus I missed Christmas! _Christmas!_ The most important holiday to them and I wasn't there! But who cares, Darcy hasn't been to Christmas for 5 years, what's one for me?"

Eli was surprised at how Clare was reacting right now. Had she felt this way throughout the entire trip to his parents' and just hadn't said anything? Or had it just hit her? Either way, Clare had a conniving and satisfied look on her fact that Eli didn't think matched Clare at all. But she was happy it seemed, that's all that mattered.

"You know what else would piss them off more? If I didn't come home when I said I would," Clare was saying. "I texted my mom, _texted _her, not called, and she _hates_ that, and I said I'd be home by noon. Can we do something? I don't care what, I just don't want to be home when I said I will."

Eli knew this wasn't a good idea and rubbed his temples, thinking of what he could say to get Clare to actually go home and not get into any more trouble. But when Eli stopped at a red light, Clare leaned over and kissed his cheek tenderly, running a hand through his hair. He couldn't say no to her, not when she was being so affectionate.

"I guess we can…go to Adam's?" Eli had a hard time saying. Clare's fingers were moving softly through his hair and it created shivers down his spine. "He wants to meet you."

"Perfect," Clare grinned and sat back in her seat, lacing her fingers with Eli's again.

Eli gulped and took in a deep breath as he started driving again. Clare was going to be the death of him.

* * *

><p>"I hope you're presentable. Clare and I are literally two minutes away. We're actually in the elevator so yeah, be decent."<p>

"Oh…maybe you could hit the emergency button? I need like…ten minutes."

"Adam, just hurry up. You were bugging me about meeting Clare and here we are."

"Fine, fine…uh…okay, just walk really slow."

Eli hung up the phone and watched as the numbers rose in the elevator, going up higher and higher to Adam's floor. He heard tapping and looked down, noticing Clare's foot was tapping and she had her lips pressed together. She had a nervous expression on her face.

"Don't be nervous," Eli wrapped an arm around Clare's waist.

"I don't know why but I'm more nervous to meet Adam than your family," Clare admitted, chuckling softly.

"He's just gonna be happy that he won't have to listen to me talk about you," Eli told her honestly. "Yeah, he listened to a lot of crazy things. Don't judge, it was love at first sight."

"I don't believe in that though, I believe in infatuation at first sight. You were just infatuated."

"That I was," Eli wiggled his eyebrows and kissed Clare quickly before stepping out of the elevator. Eli and Clare walked hand in hand and once at Adam's door, Eli knocked.

They waited, waited, and waited. Eli was getting restless, turning his head every which way in aggravation. He was about to pound on the door when it opened, and a tired looking blonde girl jumped in surprise while Eli and Clare flinched.

"Hi," the girl said shortly.

"Hi…" Eli replied slowly. "Uh…is Adam here?"

Eli felt Clare's hand tense and when he glanced down at her, her jaw was dropped and her eyes were wide.

"Yeah he's just…getting out of the shower," the girl awkwardly said.

"But I talked to him just—"

"Gotta go," the girl walked past them and down the hall quickly and Eli watched her amusedly, shaking his head and laughing his head as he led Clare into the messy apartment. After closing the door, Eli left Clare in the living room and walked towards Adam's room. It was closed so he knocked on it a few times.

"Adam! It's me! Open up!"

After a short while, a short crash, and a pained groan, Adam finally opened the door and was rubbing his head. "What happened to ten minutes?" he mumbled.

"That's how long we waited at the door," Eli laughed. "Who was that?"

"Who?" Adam turned around and searched for something. Eli then noticed that Adam wasn't wearing pants, only boxers, and he rolled his eyes.

"What do you mean who? The girl who just walked out of here."

"Oh…crap, yeah, uh—"

"Wait," Eli paused and remembered his conversation with Adam on the phone a little while ago. "That wasn't that girl from the grocery store was it? What was her name? Kate?"

"_Katie_," Adam corrected as he pulled on some jeans. "And yes, that was her."

Eli looked at Adam, questioning, with his facial expression, what he and Katie had done that night and Adam rolled his eyes and pushed past him. "Nothing happened, she just needed a place to crash. No hooking up, none of that, I'm just getting to know her and…who are you?"

Eli almost bumped into Adam as he stopped abruptly near the living room. Clare turned around and her cheeks turned red and started to stutter. "I'm, uh—"

"Adam, this is Clare. We _just_ had a conversation on the phone where I told you that Clare and I were coming," Eli reminded him.

"Hi," Clare said shyly. "Nice to finally meet you."

"Eli," Adam whispered, his head turning back slightly to his best friend behind him.

"What?" Eli whispered back, playing along.

"There's a girl way too cute to be your girlfriend at my apartment," Adam replied and Eli smacked him. "Ow, it's true though!"

Clare started laughing as Eli glared at Adam. "All joking aside, it's nice to finally meet you Clare," Adam shook her hand. "Adam Torres, his best friend, also a comic book enthusiast."

"Do you like The Goon?" Clare asked curiously.

"Oh no…" Eli muttered.

Clare was soon engulfed in a big hug by Adam and Clare hesitantly but also laughingly hugged him back.

"Don't date _him_, just date me," Adam held Clare by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "I'm just kidding though. Just be my friend. If I have to spend more months listening to him talk about admiring you from afar, I'm going to rip my hair out!"

After a lot of laughing and jokes, the three of them sat in the living room. Clare and Eli on the couch while Adam took the reclining chair. He was fully reclined, hands clasped together over his stomach, head turned to them.

"So let me get this straight…you _know_ Katie?" Adam asked Clare.

"Yeah, we're at the same university," Clare answered. "Was just surprised to see her here. She's kinda known for not even giving guys the time of day."

"But…we've hung out a lot the last few days!"

"That, my friend, means you obviously pass her test," Eli said. "She did stay here, right?"

"What if that means that she thinks of me as just her friend?" Adam contemplated, looking up at the ceiling.

"What if it means she was testing you to see if you'd try something with her here?" Clare guessed. "Seems like a Katie thing to do, actually. She likes to be sure about things. If she were ever to get in a relationship, she wants to know everything beforehand."

Eli stared at Adam and asked, "You didn't try anything did you?"

"No!" Adam exclaimed. "You know me, I would never."

"Just making sure. Did she say anything before she left?"

"Said she'd call me later," Adam shrugged. "I like her. A lot. But she's going back to university after the break and it's not like I could drive up there a lot. It's not a _long_ distance relationship but definitely not short distance. I won't see her a lot and I don't know if she and I would be able to do that."

Eli realized that not only did that apply to Adam, it also applied to him and Clare. Actually, it was exactly like Adam and Katie. Katie and Clare went to the same university, a few hours away, and him and Adam were stuck here. It wouldn't be easy going up to TU all the time and surely with Clare's hectic schedule at school, making time for his visits wouldn't be her top priority. Also, Eli's car was crap. He couldn't drive back and forth a lot. When she goes back to school, could they really still be together or was this just a winter fling?

"But I think she's worth it," Adam continued babbling. "If she actually does like me. I think I'll ask her point blank. Do you think she'd appreciate that?"

"Katie doesn't like games so I say asking her to her face would actually impress her," Clare answered. "Eli? You okay?"

Eli snapped out of his trance when he felt Clare's hand over his. She was smiling at him softly and Eli wished he could forget the doubt he had in his mind about what would happen after the break but he couldn't.

They spent several more hours at Adam's house until Eli looked out the window and saw that the sun was close to setting, meaning Clare was way past the time she said she'd be home. Eli noticed that Clare kept pressing a button on her phone when it lit up and he knew she was rejecting the phone calls from her parents.

He thought earlier that he didn't care if Clare's parents liked him or not but with every passing ignored call, Eli was proven wrong. He knew her parents would blame him and he certainly didn't want to start off on a bad foot with them. He loved Clare and saw a future with her and it seemed crazy since they just met but it wasn't crazy to him. But her parents are a big part, a big deciding factor in Clare's life. But he probably just screwed up any potentially good relationships by taking Clare away from Christmas and not bringing her home on time.

"I think we should go," Eli stood up and stretched. "I have to drop Clare off and go check my work schedule."

"Do we really have to go now?" Clare whined.

"Yes," Eli pulled her up from the couch. "Come on, I don't want you to get into more trouble."

"They can't punish me, I'm eighteen, in university, and they can't control me," Clare replied defiantly.

Eli saw Adam's face turned to shock and Clare started walking away. "I'm going to use the bathroom first. I swear I'll be out in a timely manner," she promised and headed away.

Adam looked up at Eli with a confused face. "Since when did the 'Saint Clare' become 'Backtalk Clare'? You always said that she seemed like the nicest person."

"_She is_," Eli pressed. "But I don't know what's gone into her. I guess she had her first taste of rebellion having left her family during Christmas. Her parents are gonna hate me though."

"Maybe they'll see how Clare's acting and realize it's all her," Adam said hopefully but with doubt. "I don't know man. I guess just take her home and hope for the best."

"Okay, we can go now," Clare sighed as she emerged. "Time to face the music."

Eli looked at Adam one more time before stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking to the door behind Clare. After saying their goodbyes to Adam, they headed to Eli's car and to the Castellani. Eli parked at the back and led Clare through the secret way inside and suddenly they were in the elevator.

Once they got to Clare's door, Eli stepped back and said, "Maybe I shouldn't be here…" he said scared.

"What? Why?"

"They're going to hate me Clare, no doubt about it," Eli said seriously. "Just take their daughter away for Christmas? Not get her home on time? I hardly think they'd fine me suitable boyfriend material, especially since they probably think that you cheated on Jake."

"Eli, please, I don't want to face it by myself," Clare pleaded. "_Please_."

Eli still wasn't sure and wasn't prepared for what her parents would probably say and do to him but Clare was soon pulling him through the open door. Clare made an exceptionally large noise putting her suitcase down and soon, her parents emerged.

"Where have you been?" Helen Edwards demanded to know, completely disregarding Eli's presence. But Randall Edwards was staring him down and Eli felt completely dead. He looked down to his shoes and said nothing.

"Having a great Christmas mom," Clare replied spitefully. "An _amazing_ Christmas actually. Right Eli?"

_Shit_, Eli thought. "Uh…yeah," Eli said nervously, still not looking at the Edwards parents in the eye.

"Oh, right, silly me, I forgot to mention. My _best_ Christmas in a long time was with Eli, who's an _Atheist_," Clare's voice was filled with spite and venom and Eli's heart was pounding. Clare wasn't supposed to make things worse but she seemed to be first place of that.

"An…a…" Helen was baffled and kept looking back and forth between Eli and her daughter. "We're not talking about this right now, Clare Diana. You didn't call and when you said you'd be home at a certain time, we expect you to be home then!"

Clare scoffed and Eli _wanted_ to die. "You lied to me for months, Mom. I couldn't stay here after I saw what happened!"

"We were going to tell you after the holiday, Clare! But you should not have run off with the doorman. What about Jake? Amelia called me and said Jake was angry and didn't want to talk! He found out didn't he? The one good guy in your life and you throw it all away!" Helen yelled.

"I chose to go, Mom! I could've very well have jumped on a plane and went to Jake but I didn't because I don't love him! I don't and you can't push us together!"

"I don't approve of this," Helen pointed her finger between Eli and Clare. "I can't and I won't. Clare, you and Jake…and you can do much better than the _doorman_."

Eli felt like he was hit in the gut repeatedly with every single word from Helen's mouth along with her condescending tone. He wanted no more than just to leave and not come back. There was no use at all, Clare's parents despised him, and Clare seemed to not even care. She was spiting her parents and using him.

_Wait…was this all an act just to spite her parents?_

"I'm going to do what I want _mother_ and you can't stop me."

_Did the doorman comments just completely fly over her head?_

"You're disgracing this family Clare! What will people think when they hear that—"

"That the precious, non-shipped off Edwards daughter is dating the poor man who opens their doors for them? Scandal!"

Eli couldn't mask the small, upset, and disappointed gasp that left his mouth as Clare spoke the last sentence and he stepped back a bit. Clare's face turned from angry to regretful quickly and she looked at Eli sadly.

"Eli, no, I—"

"You were using me," Eli stated, tears threatening to pour from his eyes. "You used me to get back at your parents."

"No, that's not what—"

Eli cut her off angrily. "Poor man? You're not even defending me, Clare! They're attacking me and you say nothing! I'm out of here."

Clare grabbed his arm and Eli snatched it back quickly. "Please Eli, I didn't mean to insult you, I'm just angry—"

"So that gives you the right to hurt me?" Eli was fuming, but he was simply angry to mask his hurt.

"No, it's not. I'm sorry. I really didn't mean that. Please believe me!"

"You tried to get back at your parents," Eli breathed deeply through his nose and narrowed his eyes. "But I'm the one who got burned. Have fun with Jake."

Eli walked out of the door and down the hallway swiftly to catch the open elevator. Right before the elevator doors closed, Clare's hand went in between and the doors opened again.

"I don't love him, I love you!" Clare shouted, tears flowing from her eyes freely.

"I can't believe you," Eli shook his head. "Just waving around the 'I love you's' like that. Like it means _nothing_. You don't love me. I was just all part of your plan, wasn't I? Piss off parents and then they'll let you do whatever you want. I thought you were different. I thought we would last. I thought I finally got you and now I realize, what I imagined you to be is completely different from what you are."

"Eli," Clare said with a crying sigh. "_Please_."

Eli shook his head and looked back down to his feet. He heard the elevator doors close and he dropped to the floor and cried into his knees.

It was all an act. She didn't care but she sure acted well. She was angry at her parents and took the first chance to make them angry and Eli just happened to be part of it. She toyed with his emotions and used them to her advantage. And to think, he was completely worked up about her going back to university and wondering how they would make it work.

Eli didn't have to worry about it now. It was over before it actually began.

Once Eli got out of the building, he headed straight to where he knew he wouldn't be judged. The bar.

He walked inside after wiping the tears from his face and found Natasha standing behind the bar, her back to him, and cleaning a glass.

"Hey," he said with his still shaking voice.

"Hi, what can I get—" She turned around and was taken back. Then she noticed the probably red eyes and nose and undoubtedly damp face. Then her face turned solemn.

"I need a friend right now," Eli said sadly. "But I'm not getting drunk. You know what happened last time."

Natasha laughed and gestured to the vacant stool in front of her. Eli sat down and put his head in his hands. "Dr. Natasha, at your service."


	13. What To Do

**A character from earlier chapters will make an appearance! Hint, he's a driver.**

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><p>Eli woke up in an uncomfortable position, in an unfamiliar place and bed, until he realized that he was in Natasha's upstairs apartment. But he wasn't on the bed, he was on the small couch with a small blanket wrapped around him. His tight jeans and heavy jacket were still on him and he had a pounding headache. He remembered that he told Natasha that he wouldn't get drunk and he didn't; the headache must've been from what happened yesterday.<p>

"_That the precious, non-shipped off Edwards daughter is dating the poor man who opens their doors for them? Scandal!"_

"_Poor man? You're not even defending me, Clare! They're attacking me and you say nothing! I'm out of here."_

"_Please Eli, I didn't mean to insult you, I'm just angry—"_

"_So that gives you the right to hurt me?"_

Eli groaned at remembering the entire scene and sat up, putting his hands over his face. He had told Natasha everything about what happened. How wonderful Christmas was, how he and Clare ended up kissing to no end, how he took her to Adam's place, and how Clare brought him to her parents' place and pretty much had him skewered by her parents and herself. Natasha had no words and just let him vent. Eli fell asleep to his own babbling and tears.

When he got up from the couch, he saw that Natasha's bed was already made. He looked around for a note and found one attached to the door. "_Thought that waking you up would be cruel. I'm downstairs._"

Eli put the note in his pocket and went downstairs and saw Natasha putting seats down to the floor. He cleared his throat to catch her attention.

"Oh good morning sleepy head, you feeling better?" she asked him.

"Not even. But I should probably go home and shower and…you know, be depressed alone," Eli sighed and headed for the door.

"Wait," Natasha called after him. He stopped at the door. "She's stupid…if she thinks that using you like that was a good call but…"

"But what?" Eli asked aggravated. "I should really go."

"No, wait, just listen," Natasha said. She put down one of the chairs and walked over to him. "You ran out on her when she was telling you that she didn't mean it. Maybe she didn't. I think that you should talk to her before ultimately deciding to shut her out."

"I already decided," Eli rolled his eyes. "Can I go now or would you like to depress me even more?"

"You can go," Natasha said in defeat. She opened the door for him and allowed him out.

Eli was met with the brutally cold air whipping his face on the freezing, winter morning. Many people were on the streets and Eli maneuvered around them mindlessly. He couldn't stop thinking about Clare. Her actions yesterday all pointed to her using him; she didn't want to go home right away, wanting to stay at Adam's for longer and the words she used, how her attitude changed, and what she said to her parents about him. Eli had never been hurt like that, especially from someone he thought he had strong feelings for.

But that's a lie. He didn't think he had strong feelings for Clare. He knew he did and he couldn't deny that. But he believed that Clare finally thought the same way when she clearly didn't.

"_She's probably with Jake now,_" Eli thought bitterly. "_Probably praising herself for her good acting. Probably happy that her parents are cutting her some slack, playing the sympathy card with them. I should've seen this coming. I know about that family, deceit must run in it._"

He shook his head and rid himself from that thought. He didn't want to generalize them. Truthfully they were the least he heard about. But with what Helen was doing with a married man, passing judgment was easy. Eli stopped though. It wasn't something he needed to care about.

When Eli got home, he emptied out his pockets. He tossed aside Natasha's note, took out his phone, and then realized that he had Clare's present in his jacket pocket also. The one signed by the lead singer of Dead Hand. He started at it for a second before dropping it onto his coffee table. Sure it was special and sure he'd probably wear it at some point, but right now he just didn't want anything that reminded him of Clare.

After taking a nice, hot shower and putting on the comfiest clothes he had, Eli plopped down on the couch and turned the TV on. He flipped through the channels and saw a familiar scene. It was some guy showing off large message cards to some girl at a doorway and music was playing in the background. It took Eli a minute to realize that this scene was from the movie she watched with Clare. _Love Actually_. Angrily, he turned to a different channel.

"Who plays Christmas movies after Christmas?" Eli mumbled. He switched to the food network and barely paid attention to it.

It seemed that he was watching the channel for an hour or so before his cell phone started ringing. He lazily picked it up and checked the caller ID before answering. "What Adam?" Eli sighed into the phone. His head fell back on the couch.

"Nat told me what happened. Ouch man, sorry."

"Yeah thanks dude. You wanna continue to twist the knife in my heart?"

"You're being dramatic," Adam said to him. "Sure you liked her but—"

"Adam, she used me to get back at her parents. Do you know what she called me? She called me a poor man, practically paraded me in front of her parents as the guy they'd never approve of. She continuously slapped me in the face in the two minutes I was there." Eli took a deep breath before continuing. "I had her with my family, Adam. She kissed me, she held my hand, she made my family love her, and for what? Nothing. All she wanted was to piss off her parents."

Adam was silent for a second. "But…you should at least talk to her—"

"There's nothing to talk about. I've known her for a few days only, it doesn't matter. She'll forget about it, I'll forget about her, it was only a…"

"Christmas fling?" Adam said wearily.

"I guess," Eli shrugged. "Exactly. That's what it was. It's like that summer romance thing except it was during the holidays. Meant nothing."

"Yeah, I'm sure that you really believe that. I have to go. I'll come by tomorrow and we can talk more about it if you want. Or we can just play video games until our hands fall off."

Eli laughed. "Sounds good. Bye."

After spending most of his day on the couch, he looked through his fridge and found it empty. So grudgingly, he got ready to go to the grocery store. After putting on tons of layers, he left his apartment and walked to the nearest store, which was the one in full view of Clare's building. He started at the building for a moment, rolled his eyes, and walked into the grocery store and grabbed a cart.

Mindlessly, he wandered down aisles and grabbed whatever food he felt like eating. By the time he made it back to the registers, he had an almost cart full of things he couldn't even remember placing in the cart. Eli's mind was definitely not with him. He was thinking of Clare, what she was doing, what she was thinking. He was remembering that perfect three days and as much as he wanted to forget, she was plaguing his mind. And they were all good thoughts.

Maybe because it was the best time of his life.

After getting rid of almost half of his cart, he pulled up to the register and started putting his food on the moving conveyor. While the cashier rung up his stuff, Eli wasn't even paying attention when someone called his name. Finally, he looked up, to the next person at his line, and quickly wished that the cashier would scan his things faster.

"Could you…I don't know, speed things up a bit?" Eli asked the cashier as politely as possible. "I have to get out of here."

"Eli, come on."

Eli kept his gaze away and watched the cashier move a little quicker. Finally, Eli scanned his credit card, entered his pin, and signed his signature. He practically ripped the receipt out of the cashier's hand and grabbed all of his bags with his hands and ran out of the grocery store as someone called his name.

He was walking home as the name calling continued and finally, he had had enough. Eli turned around violently and screamed, "What?"

Luckily the street was pretty deserted at that point, so he only earned a few stares. But Clare's eyes glimmered in the street light and Eli couldn't tell if it was just the light or if they were tears.

"Eli, just please, talk to me," she pleaded desperately. "_Please._"

Eli shook his head and looked down to his feet. He let out a deep sigh and looked up again. He was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say to her; maybe he didn't want to say anything. But he felt no urge to speak or to comfort the girl who definitely looked like she wanted to cry.

"I've been going crazy since you left yesterday," she said with a shaky voice. "I know I said a lot of awful things but you have to believe me, I didn't mean to hurt you. I was angry at my parents. And I thought about it, and it did look like I was using you but I swear, I wasn't. I miss you so much Eli. You changed everything and I just met you. I…"

Clare paused and Eli noticed that she seemed to be struggling to say something. She shut her mouth and pressed her lips together. Her eyes fluttered a bit, as if trying to fight back her tears. "I just want you to forgive me Eli. I was completely out of line and I understand that. And I understand if you…don't want to be with me but I can't just walk around knowing that you hate me."

Suddenly, the bags in Eli's hands were heavier than before. The weight was too heavy and he had two choices: Drop his bags and talk to Clare or run back home and avoid her. Eli stared at Clare, trying to make his decision. And finally, he did.

He turned around and walked away. But as he walked away, he decided that if she came after him and called his name again, he'd turn around. He didn't hear her call his name anymore. So he left.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe Katie's going back to school already, long distance is gonna suck."<p>

"Adam, calm down. Her campus is like, twenty minutes away. I think you'll live."

They were at the bar, and for a weeknight it was pretty dead. Eli was cleaning a bunch of glasses while Adam sat at the front bar, head in his hands, sulking about the fact that his _girlfriend_ was leaving him so soon.

"Who knew a trip of the grocery store could change my life," Adam fathomed, staring off into space. Eli looked up, remembering the night that he ran away from Clare. But Adam's ranting brought him back to reality. "She's perfect. Did I tell you what we did on New Years?"

"Ten times Adam," Eli rolled his eyes. "What a romantic guy."

"Yeah, well," Adam playfully brushed the imaginary dirt of his shoulders. "Oh hey, have you talked to—"

"No Adam, stop asking," Eli said angrily, almost breaking the glass that was in his hand.

"Fine," Adam sighed in defeat. "Katie and I were talking about it earlier. She asked about you two and I didn't know what to say so I thought I'd ask again but I get it, you don't wanna be a man and face the facts that you're completely throwing away a perfect opportunity to actually be happy for once in your life. I get it. The girl's perfect for you and you've been pining for her for months and once you finally got the chance to be with her, you completely throw it away. I get it."

Eli shot Adam a death glare. "You wouldn't understand Adam. You don't understand. She hurt me with every word she said and—"

"Yeah, she hurt you and she may have used you but come _on_ Eli! She made one tiny mistake and you're going to judge her for that one thing? I thought that maybe your feelings for her would eventually trump your need for grudges but I guess not. Call me when you're ready to stop being an asshole and actually call the girl instead of running away," Adam slammed his hands down on the bar and pushed himself off of it and walked out in a huff. Eli threw his towel to the ground and stood against a doorway, putting his hands over his face.

"He has a point."

Eli took his hands off his face and saw a familiar face sitting at the bar. Eli couldn't remember his name right away but remembered him as the guy who was hitting on him during his first week at the bar.

"…Michael, yeah, that's right. You're name is Michael. Hi, nice to see you again," Eli said quickly. "Sorry, I…I've been having an off day. Well, off-week pretty much."

"I understand," Michael nodded. "But what he said about that girl, I think he's right."

"You don't—"

"Yeah, I don't know anything about the situation but your friend made it sound like you're in love with the girl but won't even hear her out."

Eli wanted to tell Michael to go away but truthfully, he thought that talking to someone completely unaware of the situation would give him a completely unbiased opinion.

"I may be in love with her, I don't know," Eli sighed. "But I spent Christmas with her, brought her home to my family and they all love her. But when we got back, it was like she was just using me to spite her parents. She said some nasty things about me and where I worked before. What she said, it really did affect me. Just because she's privileged doesn't mean she should be able to say whatever she wants to."

Michael agreed. "Okay, that makes sense. But did she seem…I don't know, unapologetic? If she was then I see why you're acting this way."

"Well…no, she apologized and—"

"So she didn't mean it?"

"I don't—"

"Has she tried to apologize multiple times? Asked for forgiveness?"

"Yes but—"

"No buts my friend, if you like the girl then you give her the benefit of the doubt," Michael said seriously. "You don't torture her like this and you're certainly not helping yourself. If you like her, you forgive her. It sounds like this is the beginning of your…relationship or whatever with this girl and you're going to throw it all away just because of what sounds to me, a misunderstanding? Hey, maybe she did use you but I bet she didn't do it intentionally. And she's been apologizing. So now, you're the jerk in the situation because you can't accept an apology. So what do you want to be? A boyfriend to a girl who knows when she's done something wrong or a guy, who can't admit that _they_ have done something wrong by prolonging an argument?"

Michael stood up from the bar, leaving Eli to think about what he just said. Eli heard the rattling of the door opening and looked up when Michael said his name. "Eli, just forgive Clare. I don't want to be driving a sad, crying girl back to University."

Eli's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Michael smiled at him and left the bar. _He knows Clare? But…how?_

_"Oh so you're a student?" Eli asked. "Did you want a drink or something?"_

_"Oh no, actually I was just checking to see if Andy was here," Michael told him._

_"Doesn't start his shift until later on tonight. Maybe you could drop by later and see him," Eli suggested._

_"Maybe," Michael shrugged. "Anyways I'm not a student. I'm a student's driver."_

_"You're a student's__driver__? Man, that family must be loaded."_

_"Yeah pretty much," laughed Michael. "But I've been working for them for years now and they're pretty decent. Thankfully I'm the teenager girl's driver. I pity the man who drivers around the Mr. and Mrs. of the family. The girl I drive around is practically a saint."_

_"But you're her driver at school?"_

_"Well I was originally just the driver for the family at first but then when she started college her parents thought it would be best if I drove solely her. I live near the campus anyways so it's not really a stretch._

Eli's head shot up at the memory. Michael was Clare's driver. Clare must've confessed everything to Michael. Did Clare send Michael to try to patch things up with Eli? If so…it totally worked.

Eli went to grab his jacket but saw that the snow was getting heavy outside and knew that it would be a stupid decision to walk all the way to Clare's in the bad weather. So he'd go tomorrow, hoping that he wouldn't be too late.


	14. Whirlwind

**I'm absolutely terrible. I haven't updated this in a LONG time but here it is, the last chapter until the epilogue. I'm so sorry that I kept you guys waiting but this should be redeeming. I also will have the epilogue up within the next two weeks, I PROMISE. I really do.**

**Follow me on twitter: hereinyourarms_**

**Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUSIKSNOB! Go wish her a Happy Birthday (July 24****th****) on her fanfiction or her twitter (themusiksnob) ! Go! **

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

When Eli woke up the next morning his body was practically dangling off the side of the bed, his body feeling extremely tired from the long night shift he had to work. After Michael's visit, he was roped into working the rest of the day and night and with the roads too slippery and slick to be driving in, people seemed to think that it was a good idea to walk to the bar and have some drinks before having to treck home in the cold. So Eli was left to serve a bunch of people who did not want to leave the bar to go home and the last customer left around 2 in the morning.

So when Eli finally woke up on his own time he stretched and laid in bed for quite a while before deciding to get up. When he finally sat up and reached for his phone, he got a look at the time. _12:31._

"Oh no, Clare!" he quickly jumped from bed, stumbling on the tangled comforter on his bed on the way, and scrambled to get his clothes on. "I can't believe I forgot to set my alarm," he was mumbling to himself. "Clare's probably on her way to university now."

He managed to get his jeans on, several layers of shirts and then his thick jacket, and dialed Clare's number as he walked out of his bedroom. "Pick up your phone," he said. "I know I've been an asshole but pick up your phone."

Eli listened to his phone ring and ring while putting his boots on. "Please," he pleaded. "Just answer your phone so I at least know where you are."

Clare's voicemail message began, causing Eli to curse. If he wouldn't be able to contact Clare to make sure where she was, he'd have to go to Clare's building first to check if she was still there. He had no idea when Clare was leaving but Michael made it sound like his decision was a now or never decision. Maybe it had been last night that she was leaving so if she already left, he had no choice but to drive to Clare's university to beg for forgiveness.

Eli managed to get his car started and slowly, he drove to Clare's building in the still slick roads. He noticed an absence of cars, only seeing a couple when he made his fifteen minute drive, and hoped that Clare was still home so he wouldn't have to make the long journey to Clare's university.

When Eli got to the front door of the building, he was in such a haste that he accidentally bumped into someone. "Sorry," he said quickly and dropped down to pick up whatever it was that was dropped. When he stood up to hand a book and a glasses case back, his eyes widened.

"Eli," Helen Edwards greeted him coldly. "What are you doing here?"

"Mrs. Edwards," Eli swallowed the harsh tone that he wanted to use. "I was just wondering if Clare was here."

"No," she answered. "She's not."

"So she's back at school?"

"Where else would she be, Eli? Since she didn't have you to drive her away from her family on a holiday," Helen said to him.

"Look Mrs. Edwards, I didn't mean to—"

"I'm late for an appointment, goodbye." Helen walked away from Eli quickly but with the anger, disappointment, and impatience building up in him, he blocked Helen's way out, causing her to jump.

"I know you don't like me," Eli began, his hands out to block the door. "And frankly, I don't care because all that matters to me is that Clare does like me, if she still does, I don't know. But I don't need your approval because I know I'll never get it. I've met so many people like you, people who think they're better than others, and I don't want to be associated with people like you. You kept your failed marriage away from Clare to what? Protect her? Well you only hurt her more. And seeing a man who's married with a child? Yes, Mrs. Edwards, you're so much better than people like me who need to work as a doorman or a bartender. But at least I'm not hurting people in the process. So thank you for your time Mrs. Edwards, or whatever you're called now, but I have to find your daughter."

Eli stormed out of the building without another word and climbed back into his car and sped off faster than he should have on the icy roads. Thankfully his car withstood the quick start up and he also cooled down a little, driving safer.

He couldn't believe what he had just done. He practically told off Clare's mom and when Helen tells Clare about Eli did, there would be no way that Clare would take him back. Disrespecting her mom, pushing her away, Eli started to think that Clare would just send him home.

But there was no turning back now. Eli looked at how much gas he had left in his car and realized that this would only take him to the university, not back, and he hadn't brought money with him in the haste to get ready. His wallet was in another pair of jeans. But he continued on until he finally passed by the TU entrance gate of the campus.

Not knowing what he was doing, Eli parked at one of the visitors parking lots which was full of parents' cars dropping off their kids. The frenzy of students made Eli nervous; there was no way of locating Clare without looking through all the dorms, which was probably not a good idea.

So Eli walked into the courtyard beside the parking lot and found a map of the school. He wasn't looking for anything specific but he thought that if he made himself look busy, he wouldn't look suspicious. But after a few minutes of aimlessly looking at the map, someone tapped his shoulder.

"Hey," the girl said to him. "I don't know if you remember me, I kinda ran away from you really quick. I'm Katie, Adam's friend."

"Oh right," Eli knew the girl seemed familiar. "Adam's Katie. I forgot that Adam told me you went here too."

"Are you looking for something?" she asked him, pointing at the map. "That map's not really gonna help you, learned that the hard way. Come on, I'll take you where you need to go."

"Well actually," Eli began sheepishly but followed Katie anyways. "I was looking for Clare."

"Oh," Katie said slowly. "She didn't tell you where her dorm was?"

"We got into a fight, I'm here to ask her to forgive me," Eli admitted. "She tried to talk to me but I kept pushing her away and didn't realize how stupid I was to do that until recently. So I drove out here in my car which ran out of gas only to realize that this campus is huge and I probably won't be able to find her."

"I guess you're lucky that I noticed you then," Katie told him. "I don't really see people staring at the map, everyone knows it's not an accurate one. If you trying to fly under the radar then you weren't doing a good job."

Eli rolled his eyes. "Of course that would happen. So do you know where Clare is?"

"Yeah, I'll take you to her dorm," Katie led Eli into a building named 'Thompson.' "So can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Eli said, looking around the hallway. There were students moving back into their dorms, saying hi to each other as if they hadn't seen each other in a year when it was only a few weeks. Eli began to think about if he had attended TU, maybe he would've met Clare in different circumstances.

"Is Adam a good guy?" Katie asked. The two of them started walking up a flight of stairs, dodging students who were running down them, chasing one another.

"He's the best guy, you wouldn't find anyone nicer," Eli replied sincerely. "He eats like he's competing in a marathon, he plays a lot of video games, he gets too excited about things, but he'll drop everything to be there for you."

Eli saw Katie smile. "That's what I thought," she said. "Just needed confirmation from his best friend. So if I ask him to be my boyfriend, officially, you think he'd say yes?"

"I think he'd counter and ask you," Eli joked.

Katie stopped at a door which had a dry-erase board on it which said "Clare and Alli's room" and a bunch of pictures of Clare and the girl named Alli. "Here we are," Katie said. "Good luck. Oh and when I'm back in the city, maybe you, me, and Adam can hang out. And Clare too, if things work out well."

"Hope so," Eli sighed. "Thanks Katie."

When Katie walked away, Eli stood at the door contemplating if he should knock or not. He could hear movement in the dorm so Clare had to be there already. So finally, he knocked on the door a few times and waited.

_Please open, please open, please open,_ Eli thought to himself, his foot tapping uncontrollably. While he waited he noticed a girl down the hallway staring at him. He waved uncomfortably, turning back to the door, and then he started getting nervous when the girl walked toward him.

But before the girl could approach him, the door opened. Clare was there, obviously shocked, and had no time to react because Eli said, "Surprise! I missed you so I thought I'd visit," a little too loud so the girl would get the hint and he walked into the dorm and closed the door before the girl could react.

"What was that?" Clare asked. "Why are you here?"

"Some girl was eyeing me, it was getting weird," Eli said with his back against the door.

"So you came all the way here to avoid a girl?"

"No," Eli said quickly. "The girl thing just happened. I came to see you."

"Why? You kind of made it clear that you weren't going to forgive me," Clare walked into the living room area, Eli following her, and sat down on the couch. Eli remained standing a good distance away.

"I'm an idiot," Eli told her. When Clare didn't respond other than crossing her arms over her chest he continued. "I was being too prideful and I know you didn't mean to hurt me. You were mad at your parents but you weren't using me. I overacted and I'm really really sorry. I hope _you_ can forgive _me_ this time."

Clare looked over to him and Eli could see that her face wasn't showing anger but sadness. He cautiously walked over to the couch and sat at the end of it, leaving an entire cushion between the two.

"I didn't think about how it would affect you, my moment of rebellion," Clare looked down as she said this. "Just because I was mad at my parents doesn't mean I had the right to insult you and I'm sorry for that."

"We're doing a lot of apologizing," Eli smirked, making Clare crack a smile. "And while we're at it, I'm sorry that I avoided you this long. I keep grudges pretty well."

"Yeah I noticed," Clare joked, this time making Eli smile. "And my rebellious days are over. It didn't really do anything to my parents, they got more mad anyways. I tried telling them that you're a good guy, better than any of the guys I introduced to them, but there's no changing their minds."

"Well now is probably not a good time to tell you that I told off your mom earlier today," Eli cringed. "I told her I didn't need her approval."

Eli was expecting Clare to go off on him, to tell him that he shouldn't have disrespected her mom, but Clare scooted closer to him, taking his hand. "Good," she looked up at him, her head resting on his shoulder. "I'm not looking for her approval either."

"Guess your rebellious streak isn't over," Eli leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I don't want to cause any more problems between you and your parents."

"Well they started it," Clare said childishly but then started laughing. "Didn't think this is where I would be after Christmas break. It's been a crazy few weeks hasn't it."

"A whirlwind," Eli agreed. "I started the Christmas break wishing you would say more than a few words to me but we've already gone through other boyfriends, meeting the family, sleeping in the same room, and a huge fight. And now I'm in your dorm and you're in my arms."

"We didn't really take things the traditional route," Clare laughed.

Eli placed his hand on Clare's jaw, lifting her head to look at him again. "I'm really sorry," he said softly. "I really shouldn't have—"

Eli was cut off by Clare's lips pressing against his and he surrendered, kissing her back sweetly. When they pulled back, Clare put a finger over his lips. "Stop apologizing, we both messed up and we're over it, right?"

Eli nodded and took Clare's hand from his mouth, pressing a kiss against it. "So what do we do now?"

"Well," Clare adjusted herself to sit beside Eli, her body facing his, her knees facing him. "We can't really do much, classes start tomorrow."

"Right, I have a college girlfriend now," Eli leaned over to kiss her briefly. "Can I come during the weekends?"

"I'll talk to Alli about it, she does live here too," Clare said. "But we'll hang out a lot. And call each other. The next break I have is spring break."

"Can't wait for that, maybe we can drive to a beach or something," Eli raised his eyebrows suggestively. Clare pushed his shoulder but Eli caught her hand and managed to maneuver her to sit on his lap.

"So did you drive all the way here?" Clare asked him.

"I did," Eli nodded.

"I'm glad you made it safely, when Michael drove me here it was a mess," she said.

"Yeah, about that, do you think Michael can give me a ride home?"

1234567890

"I hope you know that I'm Clare's personal driver, not yours," Michael looked at Eli through the rearview mirror. "Also, if I have to endure you two having sex back there, I keep condoms in the pocket on the seat in front of you, so at least be safe."

"Do you really think Clare would do that?" Eli laughed.

"Oh right, I forgot. But you seem like you'd be into it…"

"Whatever Clare wants," Eli told him sincerely, an amused smile on his face.

"Good answer," Michael replied. "You know, I meant what I said the first time I met you, I do think you're incredibly attractive. Also thought you were gay."

"I think it's obvious that I'm not gay though I appreciate that. I appreciate the ride home too. And convincing me to go after Clare. I was really confused how you knew it was Clare I was talking about but I guess Clare told you."

"Oh no, it wasn't Clare," Michael said. "She told me about the guy she spent Christmas with and stuff and seeing as I had met you prior to Christmas, it really just matched up. Her description of you and what I saw. If it wasn't you, you probably would've ran after me asking what the hell I was talking about and since you didn't, it was obviously you."

"I guess I have a lot to thank you for then," Eli said sincerely.

Michael looked at Eli through the rearview mirror again. "Don't worry, there's a way you can make it up to me."


	15. Unrequited

**Well, this has been a long time coming. This is the EPILOGUE of Unrequited and I can't believe it's finally over! Seriously, I didn't think I'd finally get here! I've left so many unfinished stories that I thought I'd dug a hole I couldn't get out of. But here's one story done!**

**I hope you guys have enjoyed it. I really did love this story, I just feel really bad for making you guys wait so long. This epilogue's kinda funny, not really a typical epilogue, but a good wrap up to this story.**

**So here you go. Ave atque vale. (That means "hail and farewell" in Latin. Yes, I took Latin.)**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

* * *

><p>"Do I look good? How's my breath?"<p>

"Fowl, have a mint."

"WHAT? I brushed like, five times!"

"I was kidding! Man, you really are nervous."

Eli found himself in a place he never though he would. In a man's apartment, preparing a guy for a date. This man happened to be Clare's driver Michael who he ended up getting to know really well during Clare's second semester.

After the first time Michael gave Eli a ride, when he was going home from Clare's college, they made a deal. Eli would set Michael up on a date with a guy he's had an eye on.

"I'm not nervous," Michael scoffed, adjusting his collar for the millionth time.

"Yeah, tell that to your foot," Eli replied. Michael looked down and immediately stopped tapping his feet incessantly.

"Fine, I am nervous," Michael sighed. "I haven't been on a date with a decent guy in a while."

Eli plopped down on a chair. "You've been out with Andy at least three times now and you still need me to come over before each date to make sure you're dressed and smelling well. And I know he's a decent guy, I work with him, but what about him makes you so nervous? Aren't you supposed to be relaxed when you're on a date?"

Michael walked over to his dresser and picked up his watch. "It's not nervous in a way that's like 'I'm dreading tonight, I just want to get it over with' kind of nervous. It's the 'I really want him to like me, I want to look my best, I want him to want to stay out later than he planned, I want him to like me as much as I like him' kind of nervous. You get what I'm saying?"

Eli did and he nodded. While Michael explained it, all Eli could think of what Clare. That's exactly how he felt every time he saw her, which was once every few weeks. He wanted to impress her and look good for her and he knew that Clare didn't care about that material stuff. But it was that feeling of seeing her, his stomach flipping and his palms sweating, that made him take extra time in front of the mirror and repeatedly checking if he smelled. Clare made his heart race in a good way and every time they had plans to see each other again, he was just like Michael, as much as he didn't want to admit it.

"He's taking me to some new restaurant," Michael was saying once Eli was out of his daze. "I'm not that adventurous with food. What if I don't like it?"

"Then tell him," Eli offered. "It could be a funny conversation starter. He'll know something new about you too and then the next date, he'll take you to a place that _does_ have the food you like. Maybe you might end up liking the food. But if you don't, just tell him."

"I thought it was the gay friend that was supposed to offer the advice," Michael mumbled to himself.

Eli rolled his eyes and smiled. "Well give me advice now. What should I do for Clare once her year is over?"

"Invite her over your place as often as possible to get her out of her parents' loft," Michael replied. "Well, her dad's loft now. Apparently Helen's boyfriend's wife found out about the cheating and Helen's reputation's ruined among that social circle she has. She fled, went to live with Clare's sister maybe. Apparently the humiliation was enough for her to flee the country."

"That's ridiculous," Eli said in disgust. "She cares about her reputation that much to completely pick up and leave?"

"If they have the money, they'll do just about anything," Michael reminded him. "Not Clare though which is why you should get her out as much as possible. OH and Austin, the one with the wife and baby and sleeping with Helen, _he_ was thrown out by his wife. And he lost his job because he was working for Grace's dad! Grace, his wife. So of course her dad found out. The people at Castellani are better than an overly dramatic TV show."

"I know, I had to work outside that building for a long time. The stuff you hear," Eli shook his head.

"Hey, at least that's how you met Clare."

"Yup," Eli sighed. "That was the one good thing about standing outside of that building for hours."

Michael clapped him on the shoulder. "A story to tell the grandkids! Come on, let's go. I don't want to be late."

"Isn't he picking you up?" Eli questioned. He was being pushed towards the door, literally.

"Yes! And I don't want him to see you here!"

"Michael, he knows I help you before each date. You know how I know? Because the next day at work he tells me that you tell him during the date!"

"Whatever! Just go!"

Eli left the apartment and started walking towards the elevators. Once they opened, he started laughing. "Have fun on your date," he told Andy as he stepped onto the elevator and Andy stepped out.

"He still makes you come over before our date?" Andy asked smiling.

"He really likes you," Eli shrugged. "Don't make him try gross stuff okay?"

"What are you talking about?"

Eli held his hand out to stop the doors from closing. "He said you're taking him to a new restaurant and he's not adventurous with food so he's afraid he might not like the food."

"It's a new Italian restaurant," Andy laughed. "Oh he worries too much."

"I have an idea, you should trick him and say you're taking him to some exotic restaurant and make him really nervous."

"You're terrible!"

"So you won't do it?"

"Oh I will. I can already picture him fidgeting in the car. It'll be hilarious. Can I tell him it was your idea?"

Eli smirked. "Pretty sure he'll be able to figure it out on his own. Have fun."

* * *

><p>"It's so cute that you and Michael are like BFFs."<p>

Eli stuck out his tongue to the computer screen where he was video chatting with Clare. He was already in bed, laptop on his lap, and talking to Clare while she studied for her finals.

"Oh total BFFs, we're going to go get our nails done tomorrow," he said jokingly. "And talk about boys."

"Well you already do half," Clare mumbled, her eyes down reading her textbook.

"Oh be quiet," Eli said. "Michael really likes Andy and I think he just needs some support before their dates. And since I'm the guy who set them up, I get the honor."

"I'm glad you do," Clare smiled. "It's nice, you and Michael being besties. Now I don't have to hear all the weird stuff Michael talks about. The things I've had to listen to while sitting in the back of that car."

"Oh god, I really hope I don't have to hear any gross stuff," Eli grimaced, his head falling back.

"Oh he only talks about the bad dates and bad relationships. If this thing with Andy goes well then you'll be fine," Clare assured him. "Hey, can I email you my English paper? It's my final paper and I want to make sure it's perfect."

"Sure," Eli sat up slightly and leaned against his arm. "I wish writing."

"Then take a local class? Maybe over the summer?" Clare suggested, typing away.

"I can't afford that," Eli replied sadly. "I get by with the rent and with Michael giving me rides I'm saving money on gas but that only saves a little bit."

Clare gave him a sympathetic smile. Eli didn't really like talking about his financial situation, not because he was poor and ashamed of it. He was financially stable but not enough for spending on expensive summer classes. He didn't like talking about it because it reminded him of the day Clare and her parents got into their fight, the one after Christmas. That was something he wanted to think of as little as possible.

"Then we can write together," Clare brightly said. "I just sent you the email."

Eli went to his email and opened the document. "We can write a novel together," Clare told him.

"Sure, it can be about a doorman pining for someone who lives in the building he works for…oh wait!"

Eli watched Clare roll her eyes playfully. "We can add a Michael in the book too. And an Adam."

"And our parents," Eli said.

"We can talk about how the doorman stalked the girl," Clare teased.

"And how the girl was completely oblivious to the extremely handsome doorman," Eli added.

"And how they slowly fell in love," Clare said in a soft voice. "During Christmas break."

"We can call it Unrequited," Eli suggested. "Because it was at first."

"At first," she reminded him. "Look at us now. Months later, talking over Skype. Wow, our relationship is kind of like a weird story."

"Weird? I think it's awesome. I got the girl in the end."

The two stared at each other, both smiling. Eli wished that her school year would end sooner so they could actually spend more than two days with each other. But right now, with the aid of technology, they could see each other and it was fine. Because there had been a time when Clare didn't even know he existed. He was just the guy who opened her door. And his love for her was unrequited. So it didn't matter that they were apart because his love was returned now. It was all he wanted.

"And I got a guy," Clare replied. Her smile turned devious. "So…are you willing to be a vampire in this novel?"

"**No**."


End file.
